Eating For Health

Breakfast – the most important meal of the day.   But what if you have no time, running late?   Do you need to grab something as you go out the door?   Are there any breakfast bars you should keep stocked in your pantry to “grab and go”?   The October issue of Environmental Nutrition reviewed numerous “ Breakfast in a Bar ” for nutritional quality.   I take these bars with me for a quick “snack” during the day.   Or when on a trip, if we are going to a late lunch, I snack on one of these bars to get me to lunch time.   What to look for when choosing a breakfast bar: Fiber – look for at least 3 grams of fiber. Protein – look for at least 4 grams of protein. Sugar – no more than 11 grams of sugar.   Sugar has 4 calories a gram so 11 grams of sugar would be 44 calories. First ingredient:   look for whole grain (e.g. oatmeal), fruit or nuts as the first ingredient.   If 1 st ingredient is sugar, skip it. Healthy Breakfast ba...

Growing up we would often hear a commercial about the breakfast of champions.   Who doesn’t want to be a champion?   Many people skip breakfast altogether so this post isn’t for them.   But for those of us who eat breakfast, what is a “good” breakfast?   What is a “healthy” breakfast?   So many of my students who eat breakfast say it has no “staying power” they get hungry soon after eating breakfast.   So what can you do to have a healthy breakfast with “staying power”?    Consumer Reports recently did an excellent article on “ Breakfast Matters ”.   Some highlights:   Why Breakfast : Breakfast eaters have better diets overall.   They eat more fruits, vegetables, milk and whole grains than breakfast skippers. Eat within 2 hours of waking up and you positively affect blood glucose levels for not just the morning hours but the entire day. Skip breakfast and your body can send off more of the “hunger” hormone, called Ghrelin. ...