Busy schedules affect the way we eat, but here are some statistics to “chew on.” Nearly four in ten adults usually skip breakfast, what’s been called “the most important meal of the day.” More than half of the breakfasts eaten by Americans every day are consumed in 10 minutes or less – usually alone – which is kind of surprising, since breakfast was rated the second-favorite meal of the day, after dinner, in a survey.
The National Weight Control Registry is a database of more than 5,000 people who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off for long periods of time. Seventy eight percent of the people in the registry found that eating breakfast daily was an excellent weight control strategy.
Cold cereal tops the list of most common breakfast foods, cited by 31 percent of those who eat breakfast. Where did the concept of cereal for breakfast originate? John Harvey Kellogg was a doctor in Battle Creek, Michigan, and an advocate of vegetarianism. He is best known for the invention of Corn Flakes cereal with his brother, Will Keith Kellogg, in 1897. John and his brother did not actually invent the concept of the dry breakfast cereal, though. That honor belongs to Dr. James Caleb Jackson who created the first dry breakfast cereal in 1863, which he called Granula, probably the predecessor to what we now call granola.
Healthy Breakfast Tips
- Start the day in a healthy way. It’s probably been 10 to 12 hours since you last ate, so use the first meal of the day to refuel with healthy food choices. Some studies have shown that having breakfast can actually boost your metabolism.
- Think outside the (cereal) box. Instead of opting for the usual cold cereal, try having vegetables for breakfast. If the thought of having veggies so early in the day is not appealing, try sauteeing them and folding them into an omelet.
- Feed your brain. Researchers at the University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School did a study that compared three groups of normal weight adults. One group ate no breakfast, one group ate a healthy breakfast and the third group ate what is considered an unhealthy breakfast. Participants were tested for cognitive performance 30 minutes after mealtime, and then two hours and four hours later. Results confirmed that eating breakfast of any kind, even the unhealthy breakfast, was beneficial. Skipping breakfast consistently caused hunger and led to performance difficulties on tasks requiring concentration.
Have a Youthful Day,
Jackie Silver
[Ed. Note: The latest addition to our panel of top experts, Jackie Silver is the author of Aging Backwards: Secrets to Staying Young. She’s a dynamic and beautiful 50-something bombshell who looks half her age. She created “Aging Backwards” in 2006 to help empower women to look and feel younger than their actual age. Keep reading Ageless Beauty Secrets for more of Jackie’s best tips, tricks and secret weapons for stopping the effects of aging and improving the whole self – mind, body and spirit.]
1 Endnote: Burgio K. “Prevalence, incidence and correlates of urinary incontinence…” J Urol.Nov 1991;146(5):1255-9.