Build a Better Breakfast for Better Health

 
Build a Better Breakfast to Start Your Day Off Right

Before your next "well-balanced", healthy breakfast of oatmeal and fresh blueberries, ask yourself this: Where's the protein and fat? After all, with the exception of eggs and sausage, typical breakfast foods -- cereal, fruit, toast, pastries, and juice -- provide you with almost nothing but carbohydrates, often in the form of sugar. And that means most morning meals are highly unbalanced.
Now most people already know they need high-quality protein -- the kind found in meat, fish. eggs, and dairy -- to nourish and build muscle. But fat's important at your morning meal, too. That's because, along with protein, it slows the absorption of carbohydrates into your bloodstream, providing you with a steady supply of energy--instead of a quick sugar rush (often followed by a sugar crash).  Try peanut butter or a handful of nuts (about 8-10).
And by keeping you full longer, this protein/fat combo can also help shrink your midsection. In a recent study, Louisiana State University researchers found that when people had eggs for breakfast, they ate 250 fewer calories during the rest of the day than when they had a bagel instead.  By: Tom Hansen,