Breaking the fast
It’s refreshing to read that breakfast cereals are launching a campaign to promote the nutritional importance of the day’s most important meal. Without breakfast we’re effectively running on empty.
It provides us with energy, and a good sources of nutrients such as calcium, iron and B vitamins as well as protein and fibre. The body needs these essential nutrients and research shows that if these are missed at breakfast, they are less likely to be compensated for later in the day.
According to the latest evidence, we should all be aiming to consume around 15–25% of our daily energy intake at breakfast (ie 300–500 calories for women and 375–625 for men; Spencer, 2017. And survey after surveys suggests that somewhere in the region of up to 30% of adults, and as many as 40% of adolescents skip this most important of meals.
So it’s good to see a five commitments to promote positive outcomes via reformulation and on-pack messaging.
Personally speaking, I was one of those missing out on breakfast for quite a while. I ignored guidance that said how the failure to eat something at the start of the day can have health consequences for those concerned. Not that I have suffered in any damaging way. However, breakfast can be good for waistline – research shows those who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight and more likely to be within their ideal weight range compared with breakfast skippers. If you skip breakfast, you’re more likely to reach for high sugar and fatty snacks mid-morning. I can concur with that.
I am a morning person. And while working from home, I do my best work early – maybe because my mind is clear and fresh, maybe because no one else is awake.
I also suspect it has something to do with the lure of breakfast and the concoctions I can prepare. A full breakfast seems a thing of the past. I’m not against it but I’m in the experimental stage of breakfast making having got back into it.
I’m not looking to pile a plate high yet eat well with full and flavoursome goods – and cereal provides just that to give me the power to make my day.
- Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology.
Keep in touch via email: rodney@bellpublishing.com
Twitter: @foodanddrinktec or LinkedIn: Food & Drink Technology magazine.
