5. Breakfast
What should you eat for breakfast….
If you don’t have the health you desire then a good place to start is to change anything…or everything! What you need to eat is entirely unique to you. Only you can truly know what is best for you because you are 100% unique. However, it can be helpful to throw a bit of research in here to give you ideas for what to try and where to start.
For most people, breakfast (the first meal of the day, regardless of the time) should be high in protein and good fats. Here’s why:
It sets you up for balanced blood sugar for the rest of the day.
Blood sugar levels influence hunger, cravings, energy, mood, brain function, sleep, and weight. When balanced these things function well but when out of balance you will experience a whole host of problems. Over time, people whose blood sugar levels have consistently been out of balance may even develop Type 2 Diabetes.
It takes time to get used to eating primarily fat and protein for breakfast but if you stick with it, you will likely feel better.
Eating a high-carb breakfast tends to increase late-night eating and afternoon cravings for sugar and caffeine. It also spikes your blood glucose making it difficult to focus through the day and difficult to lose weight if that is a goal for you. The more frequent and intense your blood glucose spikes are the faster you will age in every way.
High protein breakfasts keep hunger hormones in check throughout the day. You will legitimately have a healthier appetite when you start your day with protein. For some, this means their appetite will reduce, for others they will experience classic hunger cues that they may not have experienced in years. This is a good thing!
You’ll build more muscle which will help you perform better in life and even help you burn more fat.
With protein, fat, and fiber for breakfast you will have a sharp, clear mind while high sugar breakfasts are linked to cognitive decline such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Alzheimer’s is sometimes referred to as Diabetes of the brain. When you consume a lot of sugar (and refined carbohydrates) your brain function declines. Your brain prefers for you to break your fast with lots of protein and high-quality fat because it keeps the blood sugar balanced.
Many chemical reactions take place in the brain. A spike in the chemical insulin (as a result of high sugar and highly refined carbohydrate meals) tends to imbalance the other chemicals your brain relies on to function well.
High blood sugar causes harmful fatty deposits in your blood vessels which hurts your brain.
Inflammation is triggered by high blood sugar. This hurts your brain and causes problems throughout your body, especially with your heart.
Fiber keeps the gut barrier strong, so you don’t get Leaky Gut. Fiber feeds microbes, allowing better gene expression, preventing intestinal inflammation, and promoting better nutrient absorption. That said, many people have a depleted gut micro-biome and cannot tolerate much fiber. Listen to your body and don’t consume a lot of fiber if it makes you feel worse. Give your microbiome a chance to repair so that you have the appropriate microbes to benefit from fiber.
A final thought about breakfast. There is evidence that eating your protein-rich breakfast within 1 hour of getting up is extremely supportive of adrenal glands (with a trickle-down effect benefitting your endocrine (hormone) system as a whole). Many people find it difficult to eat first thing in the morning, but for those who struggle to lose weight or suspect hormone imbalance is to blame for unwanted symptoms, learning to start the day with a few eggs or other protein sources can turn things around relatively quickly. For those who really struggle to eat in the morning but also need to improve their hormonal health and support their adrenals, try a collagen or beef protein isolate protein shake. Just mix it with water, don’t add anything else. It will be light in your stomach, more like a glass of water, but it will achieve what you need it to. Be leary of many plant based protein powders as they notoriously convert into sugar in the body which will have the opposite of the desired effect.
Remember, if you do not have the health you desire then you will likely need to make changes that you don’t enjoy. These changes may be key in achieving something you’ve always desired from your health. Do not gloss over concepts like protein within 30-60 minutes of waking if you are serious about changing your health.
Do not have caffeinated coffee before protein. Whenever possible, skip caffeinated beverages for breakfast.
For those who wish to intermittent fast but also need the benefit of adrenal and endocrine system support, the feeding window simply starts earlier in the morning. For example, if your eating window is usually 8 hours then you may eat your first meal at 7am and finish eating for the day by 3pm rather than a more common window of 12-8pm. Metabolic flexibility can be restored. If you are someone who would like to have a later eating window but you need to support your hormones better, just know that once you’ve given your body adequate time to heal, you will likely create more metabolic flexibility so that one day you can eat in a window of time that you prefer for convenience. Doing hard things right now can unlock the future that you desire.
Lastly, none of this matters if you do not follow the principles of eating from the Eating Essentials post. You must have an appetite, feel good, make most your food yourself, and chew thoroughly.
