Five reasons breakfast is a must

As the name suggests, breakfast literally breaks the fast. After eating in the evening, you may go for up to 12 hours without food. That’s why it’s crucial to take five minutes to fuel your body and brain with the energy and nutrients that a good quality brekkie provides.

Many nutrition experts recommend eating 20-25% of your daily kilojoule needs at breakfast. That may be something like a bowl of crunchy cereal and milk topped with fresh fruit and a cuppa, muesli topped with yoghurt and berries or a warming bowl of oats.

Here’s five more reasons eating brekkie is a must …

Satisfy Hunger
When you eat breakfast, you are less likely to be hungry and overeat during the rest of the day. That is because breakfast helps to stabilise blood sugar levels, which regulates appetite and energy. If you are particularly hungry in the mornings, try a higher fibre breakfast cereal to help keep you full for longer.

Healthier Weight
If you eat breakfast most mornings you are more likely to be a healthier weight than someone who skips breakfast. In fact, a recent analysis of Australian Health Survey data found adults that ate breakfast cereal had a smaller waist, a lower BMI and were more likely to be a healthier weight than people who skipped breakfast or those who ate other brekkie foods.

Nutrition boost
If you regularly start your day with a bowl of breakfast cereal, you are more likely to have a nutritious diet that is higher in vitamins and minerals, especially fibre, iron, calcium folate and magnesium than people that skip brekkie or eat other breakfast foods. Breakfast cereal is also nutrient dense, which means it gives you the essential nutrients that you need each day in only a small amount of kilojoules.

School Smarts
Eating breakfast is a must especially for kids heading off to school. A good quality breakfast helps to improve brain function, as well as boosting literacy and numeracy skills. A recent research review identified eating brekkie as the number one dietary factor associated with better academic achievement.

Live Longer
Regularly staring your day with a bowl of cereal can help you live a longer and healthier life. Eating breakfast cereal has been associated with a significantly lower risk of premature death and death due to a range of chronic diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.