Is Your Breakfast Good For You?

I have always been interested in nutrition and once I started my graduate studies at Palmer Chiropractic College, I discovered more interesting research about foods affect on our bodies.  After Graduating and working in Detroit, MI, I moved to Raleigh, NC to practice Chiropractic Care.  I have really enjoyed helping everyone from families, to endurance athletes, with their food/nutritional recommendations.  When it comes to nutritional recommendations breakfast always raises the most questions.  Most people I talk to assume, cereal (with or without milk), waffles, pancakes, doughnuts, bagels (with cream cheese or not), and coffee are okay for breakfast. 

These foods will not only destroy your quest for a healthy diet, but they will also destroy your body first thing in the morning.  Some like to say “I eat a healthy cereal” or “I eat whole grain bagels.” This is a step in the right direction, and I’m trying not to sound like an extremist, but these processed foods, whole grain or not, are still terrible for you.  Marketers jump all over the “healthy whole grain,” and “health cereal” phrases because they are better than pure sugar cereal or glazed doughnuts.  Many people think “The cereal I’m eating is healthy and has a 100% of all the vitamins I need.”  Where did this information come from?  Maybe you found it on the specific products commercial, or side of the box/wrapper it came in?  I bet you heard it in a commercial or found it on the side of the box/wrapper.  This is exactly what the cereal and bagel companies want you to think.  The marketing firms for these companies usually know nothing about health and nutrition…but they know A LOT about persuasive marketing!! 

Breakfast is usually rushed through and consists of high inflammatory processed grain foods (toast, cereal, bagels, doughnuts, etc.) promoting spikes in blood sugar, cancer, chronic pain and or disease.  Picture this, race cars are lined up side by side; as the start-gun sounds, you slam the pedal to the floor and take off, leaving everyone in your dust.  Seconds later the engine is starts to decelerating rapidly!!  What’s the problem?? Eating toast in the morning is comparable to this scenario above.  Endurance athletes should take this advice literally.  Breakfast may be the only good fuel you put in your body for the next 1-12 hours.  Wrong food choices first thing in the morning will cause you to play catch-up all day.  Next you will find yourself drinking coffee, soda, and popping caffeine/alert pills of some sort, to stay awake.

What is the solution to inflammatory morning foods?  Think eggs – scrabbled, sunny-side-up, omelets (just veggies and eggs, no milk or cheese), or hard boiled, anyway-will do.  For a long time, I used to eat inflammatory morning foods.  As I read more research, I gradually made the switch to less processed foods and more anti-inflammatory choices.  I eat eggs almost every morning now.  The nutritional density in free range eggs (even more with duck eggs) will give you an advantage in everyday activities and especially before physical activities.

Imagine you are back on that starting line, everyone is lined up, the start-gun sounds and you hammer the pedal to the floor.  This time the car purrs right along not slowing, and continues to feel strong even after you’ve crossed the finish line.  Literally, “you are what you eat….”  Eat good foods (fruits, veggies, lean meat, fish, and sparingly nuts) and you will feel good.  Eat bad foods (high sugar, processed grains, breads, trans-fats) and you will feel sick and increase you risk of inflammatory diseases.