A top nutritionist has revealed some hard truths about popular breakfast choices, including one that people should avoid eating altogether. Nichola Ludlam-Raine partnered up with St. Dalfour, a fruit spread company, to give her take on what the best breakfast is for your health.
The expert said: “The biggest mistake I see people making is choosing a carb-heavy breakfast that lacks fibre, protein, and plant diversity.”
One of the examples she gave was slices of white toast with chocolate or biscuit spread, which are “essentially sugar and oil”. The nutritionist slammed the breakfast treat that is a staple in many households and shared alternative options that will not only kick start your day, but keep you satisfied in the morning, and boost your energy and focus, reports The Sun.
She said: “As a dietitian, I recommend switching to sourdough or wholemeal bread, which offers more fibre, protein, and has a lower GI – i.e. its energy is released more slowly, adding a nut butter for healthy fats and protein, and opting for a lower-sugar, higher-fruit-content fruit spread or jam.
“Adding some fruit in the form of sliced banana or berries would be a bonus too. A great hack is to keep a ‘diversity jar’ of mixed seeds handy – I always suggest this to my patients – to sprinkle on toast, yoghurt, porridge and more.”
Research found that breakfast is the least healthy way to start the day for many Brits, with 31% revealing a full english as their top breakfast choice. Other popular mentions were a bowl of cereal, scrambled eggs on toast, a bacon sandwich, and porridge.
Nichola also discussed the nation’s other breakfast go-tos, sharing that there can be up to 14 teaspoons of sugar in a bowl of processed cereal, and 16 grams of fat in a bacon butty.
She added: “There’s no one-size-fits-all perfect breakfast, but generally, poor choices tend to be those that are high in added sugars and low in fibre, such as boxed sugar or honey coated cereals, white toast with sugary chocolate or biscuit spreads, and pasteries, or high in saturated fat and low in plant-based nutrients like greasy fry-ups.”
But Brits don’t have to completely give up their favourite morning meals. Instead, Nichole suggests adapting them, for example, swapping pork sausages in a full English for grilled protein such as chicken or turkey sausages, and avoiding over-sweetening sugars or syrups.
The expert says that these changes will help avoid blood sugar spikes followed by dips, which can quickly leave you feeling tired, irritable, and hungry.