10 Feb 2011 Breakfast and the smartest way to start the day
Should we ditch toast and cereal for a cooked breakfast? And is porridge really the superfood it’s cracked up to be? This article explodes some myths about our morning meal …
Should you really eat breakfast like a king? Can a smoothie ever be enough? And why do you get so hungry after eating a bowl of supposedly filling porridge? With so many myths surrounding the first meal of the day, it’s no wonder we don’t know whether it’s OK to grab a piece of toast as we’re running out the door, or if we should be rising early to whip up a plate of bacon and eggs.
The nutritionist Ian Marber thinks we should ditch the typical breakfast – slices of toast and bowls of cereal. “Complex carbohydrates are converted from food to glucose slowly, which is great,” he says. “But because complex carbs have an inferior alternative in simple carbs – white bread, sugar – I feel we’ve elevated complex carbs too much. These are good, but they’re not that good.” Which explains why even a bowl of porridge or a slice of brown toast just isn’t enough to keep hunger at bay and energy levels up until lunch.
What to eat
Marber recommends a mix of carbs and protein instead, and suggests simple ways to transform your usual breakfast (see panel). “Protein is converted to glucose very slowly, which means your cells aren’t flooded with more glucose than they can cope with‚” he explains. Keeping blood-sugar levels steady means energy levels are kept steadier for longer, and that mid-morning sluggish feeling can be held off.
So poached egg (protein) on wholemeal toast (complex carbs) is ideal. Great, if you’ve got 15 minutes to dedicate to cooking first thing. But for so many of us, every morning minute is precious, and we’d rather forfeit a decent breakfast to spend that quarter-of-an-hour in bed, or getting to work earlier. No matter, says Marber, just change the way you think about cooking. “You could scramble an egg in two minutes and eat it straight from the pan, then have an oatcake on the way out the door. It doesn’t have to be beautiful.” Be a little flexible about what you consider breakfast food, too. “You could eat seabass with cornflakes to the same effect, if you were so inclined,” says Marber. And don’t fret about eating a different breakfast every day, so long as you have a varied diet for lunch and dinner. In short, take as many shortcuts as you need, if it means you’ll eat the all-important protein/carb mix each morning.