Health

Breaking the fast

By having breakfast, we are breaking a fast of no food of up to 12 hours. But what we have for breakfast effects our mental perfomance and concentration. Jo lunn explains the importance of breakfast.

I confess I never used to bother with breakfast. There was never enough time, it was too much hassle and I didn’t feel hungry. Come mid morning I would feel tired and concentration wasn’t at its peak so I would have a biscuit. It wasn’t long before I realised that the biscuit was making me feel worse. So I’d have a piece of fruit, but that didn’t really help either. Come lunchtime I was very hungry and would wolf down as much as I could and then beg the day to be over as I felt so tired in the afternoon.

Then I contracted salmonella, and after I recovered I became aware for the first time how food affected me and how there were certain foods that made me feel worse or better and others that I could eat at certain times of the day better than others. Through trial and error and the help of nutritionists, medical herbalists and home study, I now know what I need to do to fuel my body correctly so that I feel full, energised and alert. The first change I made was to eat breakfast.

You only have to go online or to the nearest bookshop or magazine shelf to find every bit of advice and information possible about the latest diet to flatten the stomach, increase your love life, improve your concentration and of course lose weight. Conflicting advice and stringent dietary regimes to follow make the whole topic a mine field from start to finish. We’re told to follow a healthy balanced diet, but what actually does this consist of? Is a balanced diet the same for everybody or does if differ from person to person? My personal belief is that there can be a guideline which basically says ‘eat a varied diet, but depending on your age, constitution, occupation and lifestyle the correct diet for you is going to differ from the person sitting next to you’. So for us all to go and buy a book about dieting isn’t going to work as different things work for different people.

It can be a matter of trial and error to find what foods are best suited to you and help is available here with either food allergy testing or elimination diets. If you do find you have a consistency of tiredness, irritability, lack of sleep, memory loss or poor concentration, then along with having a check up with your doctor, it would be worth considering to have yourself tested to see if there is a food that you’re eating that causes an intolerance and your doctor can help arrange this. Other ways to be checked for intolerances to food are:
a) Kinesiology (www.kinesiologyfederation.co .uk),
b) NAET Allergy therapy (www.naet.co.uk/composite-19.htm),
c) Asyra Pro ( www.nu-you.co.uk)

With the pressures of work and our everyday lives, it is important that we give ourselves the nutrients and energy needed to enable us to be at our optimum health and functionality. One thing that is important for us all to do is to eat breakfast. Just by looking at the name of this meal it is clear to see the importance of it – break fast. The first meal we eat each day breaks a fast that started the day before. We may have eaten our dinner at 7pm and then it could be up to 12 hours before its breakfast time. By eating breakfast we’re breaking a fast of no food, thus stimulating our metabolism, brain and organs into functioning by giving them some fuel. Food is our fuel source – like petrol for a car. Without it we can’t function. As with the correct fuel in a car we need to put the correct fuel in our bodies. There are some foods that are a much better option when considering what we should eat for breakfast.

When our systems are just getting going in the morning knowing they have the whole day ahead of them it is important that we start off on the right track giving ourselves energy for our brain as well as our body. If you start your day with a cereal covered in sugar or honey followed by white toast with jam you’re putting your body under strain from the start of the day. The high levels of sugar are quickly converted into energy for our body to use which is rapidly used up and our energy levels then plummet downwards there is also a lack of vitamins and minerals.

This typically happens around 10 -11am. It may be that you haven’t noticed this happening because by this time in your day you’re reaching for some chocolate, or biscuit, or a drink with sugar in it. Once again you’re having more sugar and the cycle starts again. Also with this type of breakfast, the grain that is used to make the cereal or toast tends to be refined. This means they have had the outer layers of the grain removed (the layers which have the nutrients in them). What is left is a carbohydrate that rapidly converts to glucose to give us energy and the cycle of a sugar high then low starts again.

White bread and sugar are placed high on the Glyceamic Index (GI) which ranks foods according to the effect they have on our blood glucose levels within two or three hours of eating. The higher the ranking the quicker the food is converted to glucose. The lower the food on the GI the less fluctuation occurs in our blood glucose and insulin levels thus giving us a more sustained release of energy. If we can keep these levels as even as possible we can greatly reduce our risk of heart disease and diabetes as well as keeping our energy levels stable throughout
the day.

So, despite being one of most commonly underestimated and often ignored meals of the day, breakfast is good for you! In our modern, stressful society, the ability to focus and succeed is critical and you must have the energy, concentration and drive to achieve this. Breaking the fast gives you that all important start to the day and it is neither hard nor time consuming!

Deborah’s top foods to boost your Immune System, Mental Performance and Concentration

Wholegrain cereals
These include whole wheat, spelt, rye, quinoa, oats, barley, brown rice and sprouted grains.

These foods are low on the GI index, high in fibre, rich source of essential vitamins and minerals, low in saturated fat, cholesterol free, good source of protein and contain phytochemicals. Phytochemicals although not a source of nutrition, naturally occur in plants and have great health benefits to us including helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer. To include wholegrains as part of your breakfast is helping to set your body and brain up for the day. Their energy is converted more quickly than protein and yet they are still classed low on the GI and so help to keep you blood sugar levels steady. Steady blood sugar levels help you to keep your concentration during the day.

They also include Vitamin B12 and iron, both of which help our moods and enable us to stay focused. Iron also helps us to produce neurotransmitters for the brain, support our immune system and transport oxygen in our blood, helps the functioning of the liver, and supports the functioning of enzymes and proteins as well as helping to formulate certain enzymes and haemoglobin.

Protein
Protein rich foods include meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, soya, nuts, seeds and legumes. Protein is essential for providing bone and muscle strength, endurance, immunity and is known as the building blocks of the body. It is essential for the growth, maintenance and repair of all our cells and the majority of the functions of the body need protein to function e.g. digestion, metabolism and the transportation of oxygen and nutrients in the blood.

A study by the British Journal of Nutrition found that protein eaten at breakfast maintained the feeling of fullness more than when eaten at lunch or dinner. Protein also contains Tryptophan an amino acid that helps to increase our levels of serotonin thus help our moods, helps us sleep better and regulate our appetite.

Eggs
Eggs are great when you feel run down or think you might be ill as they boost energy and have helpful nutrients.
They are a good source of protein and contain many vitamins especially the B vitamins which help us to process protein, Vitamins A, D, E and folate, iodine, and antioxidants, zinc and iron.

Fruit
The glory of fruit – apart from its taste – is the nutrients they contain. They are packed with vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Enzymes work with vitamins and minerals to help metabolic processes occur and to accelerate chemical reactions in the body that would otherwise be to slow and consequently live would grind to a halt. So literally it can be said that enzymes help to keep us alive.

Fruit is also high in moisture so its consumption helps to keep us hydrated which is something that many of us don’t pay enough attention to. Water for the body is like oil for the car. Without it we just seize up. All functions of the body require water – our brain is over 80% water and just a 2% drop in hydration can leave us feeling sluggish, having difficulty concentrating and focusing and reduced short term memory.

Many fruits contain Vitamin C which helps the absorption of iron as well as helping to make collagen which is an integral part of ligaments, blood vessels, bone, tendons, fascia and connective tissue.

It also plays a large part in supporting our immune system. So, despite being one of most commonly underestimated and often ignored meals of the day, breakfast is good for you! In our modern, stressful society, the ability to focus and succeed is critical and you must have the energy, concentration and drive to achieve this. Breaking the fast gives you that all important start to the day and it is neither hard nor time consuming!
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