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March 4, 2004
Prairie Fare: Did You Have Breakfast This Morning?
I was asked to settle a parental disagreement about nutrition recently. These can be tricky situations. The “mom” asked whether “breakfast” had to include typical breakfast foods like breakfast cereal. She had made a sandwich for their son. The “dad” thought their son would miss important nutrients unless cereal was eaten. I gathered that he was quite repulsed by the thought of eating a sandwich for breakfast. “Did your son eat the sandwich?” I asked. “Yes, he ate the whole thing,” she answered. I’m sure I didn’t please the dad when I said, “A sandwich certainly is OK for breakfast, especially if breakfast is eaten on the run. The important thing is to eat something reasonably nutritious in the morning. Add some milk and fruit, too.” The dad also had a point: Breakfast cereals are fortified with many nutrients. Maybe he heard about the research study that showed that children who eat breakfast cereal are less likely to miss key nutrients. Eating breakfast is important for all of us for many reasons. “Breaking the fast” with a healthy breakfast improves mental performance. Children who skip breakfast have trouble staying on task in school, and become tired and irritable. I think the same holds true with adults at work. Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, reported that children who ate breakfast tended to eat more healthfully all day. Teens who eat breakfast are more likely to meet at least two-thirds of the daily recommendation for calcium, magnesium, riboflavin, folic acid, phosphorus, iron and vitamins A, B6 and D. Breakfast skippers usually don’t make up for the nutrients they missed. What’s the best breakfast? Research has shown that people who eat a protein-containing breakfast performed better on tests involving thinking and concentration. For example, having a glass of milk, container of yogurt, a piece of cheese, peanut butter on your toast or a hard cooked egg would all add protein. Some people skip breakfast to trim some calories and potentially, body weight. You probably won’t be getting thinner by foregoing your morning meal. University of Texas nutrition researchers recently had 900 people keep food diaries. Those who ate more calories in the morning tended to eat less in the evening and less overall throughout the day. In other words, people tended to be satisfied by a big breakfast and less apt to get the evening “munchies.” During March, National Nutrition Month, start your day right with breakfast. Here’s a tasty quick bread recipe for breakfast or anytime of the day from the North American Blueberry Council: www.blueberry.org/bbmonth.htm
### Source:
Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
Market Advisor: |
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North Dakota State University |
