Breakfast is considered by some to be the most important meal of the day. The word breakfast, although obviously but more often overlooked than you might think, comes from the breaking of your fast after you haven't eaten since the previous day. Without a good breakfast you may not have the nutrition you need to get you through the rest of the day with high energy levels and vitality.
There are many conflicting opinions on what is the best breakfast. Some say that eating a meal of fruit is the best thing, some prefer eggs and bacon, some drink a litre or more of smoothie containing 15 or more bananas, whilst others enjoy oatmeal, whilst in Asian cultures it is not uncommon to consume rice for breakfast. Indeed the common Cambodian salutation "Sua s’dai, Nham bay howie nov?" can be translated as "hello, have you eaten your rice today?".
There is a reason why some of the longest lived cultures in the world, like the Okinawans and the current longest lived population, the California seventh day adventist, do not typically consume fatty artery clogging high cholesterol foods like bacon and eggs. Contrary to animal industry funded groups like the Weston A Price Foundation (incidentally lead by an obese woman),
there is no cholesterol myth and people who deny the clear link between cholesterol and heart disease are now colloquially termed "cholesterol deniers" by mainstream medical science; a title of similar disdain to that of "flat earther" among physicists. The science is quite clear, basically the the epidemiological data points towards the most successful and long lived societies traditionally having eaten starched based diets.
A starch based diet is the only diet ever having been clinically proven to reverse heart disease:
This causes some outrage on both extreme sides of the dietary spectrum. Fruitarians (or fruit based raw foodists) like Doug Graham and Fully Raw Kristina assert that fruit is the optimal food for humans, sporting healthy physiques and athletic prowess.
Meanwhile overweight fad diet book authors like Loren Cordain will assert lard and butter are great calorie sources and do not contribute to ill health.
Although diet based science is rarely absolute, the truth as promoted by many leading doctors appears to be that we should follow a predominantly starched based diet.
My personal anecdotal experience agrees with this wholeheartedly. After having experimented with a bacon and eggs based diet in my late teens after moving out of my parents house and having the freedom to stuff my face with whatever I wanted, my health started to degrade to the point of severe digestive issues and ill health. In my early-mid 20s I discovered fruitarianism and would routinely drink litres of banana and date smoothies - my record was over 50 bananas in a day but I would routinely eat 20 per day. This period of my life saw my health and energy levels skyrocket but it would be very inconvenient storing and ripening the bananas and my diet was very restrictive and not very compatible with eating out. I would also get sugar rushes to the point where my head would spin after drinking a litre of "datorade", that is dates blended with water, and after the sugar was digested a couple of hours later, I would get fairly sudden hunger.
For the past 5 years or so I have maintained some amount of raw fruit in my diet but overwhelmingly eat a cooked starch based diet based around cooked oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes, millet, quinoa, whole wheat pasta and rice. My morning porridge (oatmeal) will satiate me and I will stay satiated for hours on end and then my hunger will gradually increase until I desire my next meal, as apposed to suddenly be hungry after only a few hours with the fruit meals. My energy levels are also great and I don't get head rushes. Porridge has proven to be a superior breakfast for me personally for long bike rides as I feel the energy is longer sustained and released in a slower, let spiky way. Not only that but dried oats are always ready to go and don't need to be ripened like bananas or slaughtered like bacon. Cooking takes around 5 minutes and the meal can be eaten immediately without having to wait for it to cool down when mixing in frozen berries. It is also one of the least expensive high quality healthy breakfasts you can have. Depending on the country you live in, oats are so cheap they are almost free.
I therefore recommend porridge as the as first choice for a healthy breakfast. The addition of ground flax seeds and berries augment the nutritional profile substantially. For those who are concerned with protein, for example body builders, adding a small amount of natural hemp protein or shelled hemp seeds will provide more than enough protein for your needs. Adding a small amount of barley grass powder will further augment the nutritional profile but may not be as palatable to some people.
I demonstrate in this video how easy and fast it is to prepare such a healthy breakfast.
In our house porridge (oatmeal) is also the breakfast of choice I usually cook them much the same as in the video with freshly ground linseed (flax) with banana and frozen berries added at the end, herbs and spices can be added to add variety and boost the medicinal effect like turmeric cinnamon and black pepper. in the warmer months we prepare overnight oats with a plant based milk ground linseed and banana and/or berries now and again cacao powder somehow finds its way in but then it turns into a dessert!.
Thanks for the comment mate. I thought this post got lost in cyberspace but came back and saw a bunch of new comments which is cool. Will post more on steemit now.
Hey footsoldier! I didn't realise you're on steemit! Wonderful to have you here! :) I agree with you, starch is the best for the morning (for energy levels and so on)... I love waking up with fruit too much to give it up. Freshness is the first thing I need. After that I can eat something else. I like bread + seed or nut butter best, and a cup of coffee. Cheers to you my vegan friend, check out my profile, you might find some interesting information!
I feel ya Free g. This morning was a toast with homemade jam and coffee kinda day!
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Over the years I've tried many approaches, always looking to get the best performance as a competitive athlete.
My breakfast looks different depending on the time of year and where I am. Cold English mornings I welcome my toast or porridge. Another personal favourite in warmer times is a giant smoothie with loads of fruit, greens, ground seed etc.
nice one mate. good to see you here. I didn't go on steemit for a while back I think I'm gonna give it more of an effort now.
Cheers dude! Aye I've been a bit haphazard with my posting everywhere, been busy af irl though! Hope you're good mate, can't wait for the album!