10 popular foods you shouldn't eat for breakfast
We live in the era of advertising. Every day, each person receives a portion of obsessive advice on what to eat in order to be healthy and successful. The products that we will talk about today have the following in common: they are all considered the most suitable for a morning meal. Unfortunately, this is not true: they are completely unsuitable for breakfast.
Muesli and instant porridge
It really makes sense to eat porridge at the beginning of a working day. Cereal meals are high in nutrients, including the "right" carbohydrates, which are digested slowly enough to provide energy until lunchtime. But instant porridge is largely devoid of this property. To make cereals suitable for consumption without boiling, they undergo special processing, due to which most of the carbohydrates are converted into a rapidly digestible form. Therefore, the usefulness of such cereals is highly questionable.
Muesli are cereal flakes with the addition of nuts, seeds, dried fruits and candied fruits, and contain a large amount of sugar. In addition, the quality of inexpensive types of muesli is rather low: instead of pieces of real berries and fruits, they can contain synthetic substitutes or flavors identical to natural ones. All this makes muesli more harmful than useful.
It is best to cook morning porridge from high-grade cereals in milk or water. To enhance the taste, you can add a small amount of honey, fresh or quick-frozen fruits and berries, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and spices such as ginger, vanillin or cinnamon.
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Industrial confectionery
In popular commercials, a well-dressed man walks into a cozy cafe on his way to the office and has a quick snack on a chocolate croissant (cake, fluffy bun, etc.) with a cup of coffee. All together gives the viewer the impression of correct actions, the result of which, apparently, should be health, beautiful appearance and material well-being.
In fact, it is difficult to think of a more harmful breakfast option. Any such treat is a combination of "fast" carbohydrates and animal fats, contains a lot of calories and has a very high glycemic index. Such a breakfast does not provide satiety and vigor for a long time, but it promotes weight gain.
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Quick breakfasts
Various cereals, "balls", "stars" and other products that need to be poured with milk or juice to get the "most delicious and nutritious breakfast" are positioned by manufacturers as the best option for a morning meal for children. But the only advantage of such products is the ease of use. Despite the long list of vitamins and trace minerals purported to be found in breakfast cereals, they do more harm than good.
The product, packed in a bright box, is made by extrusion: all the ingredients are crushed to a fine powder and pressed, giving the pieces a certain shape. Breakfast cereals contain flour, starch, sugar and a large number of flavor enhancers, preservatives, flavorings, emulsifiers and other synthetic additives. The regular appearance of such products in the child's diet can lead to metabolic failure, obesity, disruption of the kidneys, stomach, intestines and other organs.
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Sausage sandwiches
This is a traditional breakfast but not particularly healthy. Wheat flour bread with butter and sausages (often not of the highest quality) is a combination that means the maximum amount of "fast" carbohydrates and unhealthy fats. In order for such a breakfast to really provide the body with energy, and not go straight to body fat, its ingredients must be replaced.
A healthy sandwich should contain:
- wholemeal bread (preferably from a mixture of cereals);
- natural meat, boiled or baked. Lean beef or chicken breast is best suited for this;
- fresh vegetables (slices of cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers);
- leafy greens (parsley, dill, basil, celery, arugula, or lettuce)
This type of breakfast will be both hearty and healthy.
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Packaged juices
Most of the ready-made fruit and berry juices are produced using the recovery technology, that is, adding water to the dry mass. Unfortunately, this is usually not the end of it: a lot of sugar, citric acid and other preservatives are put in packaged juices. Instead of fruit pulp, pectin or beet cake (waste from sugar beet processing) is often added to the product. It is clear that products of this kind are not useful (especially for children).
Freshly squeezed fruit juices do contain a lot of substances the body needs. However, it is unsafe to consume such drinks on an empty stomach, since the organic acids in their composition irritate the gastric mucosa.
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Curd snacks
Any dish made from natural cottage cheese (cheese cakes, casserole, just good quality cottage cheese) is perfect for breakfast: it is a wonderful dietary food that supplies proteins and minerals necessary for the body. But sweet curd snacks, dairy slices and curd mass, heavily advertised by manufacturers, are not an adequate substitute. There is not much cottage cheese in this type of product: it mainly consists of vegetable fats of dubious quality and sugar. And preservatives and flavorings are its mandatory ingredients. Even the “chocolate” glaze, which covers many curd bars, has nothing to do with chocolate.
It is advisable to use industrial curd products (including for baby food) infrequently, only as a delicacy.
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Chocolate bars
This is another type of food that has been advertised as being healthy, energizing, and snackable. In fact, chocolate bars contain a lot of "fast" carbohydrates and unhealthy plant fats. They should not be eaten often, all the more so - regularly included in the morning meal.
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Fast food
The harm of hamburgers and other fast food is associated with the products from which they are made and which we have already talked about. In this case, fats are added to the “fast” carbohydrates contained in white bread, on which meat ingredients are fried (by the way, they are also not of the best quality). In addition, fast food often contains mayonnaise or tomato sauce, which are also not very healthy. All together it is an extremely harmful product, after the use of which the feeling of hunger quickly passes, but also quickly returns. The constant inclusion of fast food in the breakfast menu leads to eating disorders (attempts to snack during the day, increase portions, etc.), metabolic disruptions and weight gain.
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Processed cheese
Many people think that a melted cheese sandwich is less harmful than a hamburger or a butter and sausage sandwich, but this is not the case. The product that advertising is actively imposing on us is almost entirely fat. It does not possess the beneficial properties of real cheese. In addition, do not forget that cheese production or cheese is often used for its production, which cannot be sold due to the expiration date.
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Nut and chocolate spreads
These foods, which many children love so much, are actually neither chocolate nor nuts. They are composed of hydrolyzed vegetable oils (usually the cheapest - palm kernel or coconut), milk powder, cocoa butter, lecithin, and flavorings. This combination of components can cause serious harm to the body, disrupting the normal metabolism. In no case should you regularly consume chocolate or nut spreads: even jam or preserves (of course, homemade), with their extreme saturation with carbohydrates, are a better option.
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What exactly a person eats for breakfast determines his mood and ability to work during the working day. Therefore, the choice of products for the morning meal should be approached especially carefully, avoiding excessively high-calorie foods, but trying to get all the nutrients that allow you to stay active and healthy.
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Maria Kulkes Medical journalist About the author
Education: First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, specialty "General Medicine".
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