BY: DR. LYDIA THURTON
Breakfast is a disaster for many of my patients. I always ask people to tell me about a typical day’s diet. When I hear the foods people are eating for breakfast it becomes so clear to me why we have a community ravaged by diabetes and metabolic problems like high cholesterol. We are eating all wrong in the morning.
Firstly, it is important to eat your morning meal when you are actually hungry. This allows your body to have some time in a fasted state and this promotes your metabolism, lowers your blood sugar and teaches your body to use fat as a source of energy. Even if you don’t need to lose weight, teaching your body to use fat instead of sugar puts your body in a better metabolic state. Cholesterol levels improve, blood pressure goes down and blood sugar becomes stabilized.
The worst breakfast foods are bagels and toast with margarine, cereal, pancakes with syrup, muffins, low fat yogurt, granola bars and it doesn’t matter if the product is gluten free or not. Sugary, heavy carb breakfasts spike your insulin and ruin your metabolism for the day. Your insulin is supposed to be low in the morning and higher at night, when it climbs first thing in the morning you are setting yourself up for intense hunger and sugar cravings all day long.
The best breakfasts to keep you full and stabilize your insulin are full fat Greek yogurt with berries, mackerel and sardines, avocados, eggs and omelettes with vegetables and cheese, breakfast meats from a butcher that doesn’t put scary ingredients in their processed meat, are examples.
It’s important to reshape what you consider a “breakfast” food. Many of my patients eat salads with protein for lunch. This is actually a great breakfast! Leftover meat from the night before is quick and tasty. Don’t be afraid to use organic butter, coconut oils and olive oils to prepare foods. Fats and oils keep you full and stabilizes your blood sugar.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day to set your metabolism up for success. If you are getting intense sugar cravings, feeling brain fog after you eat, gaining belly fat, feel shaky and angry, if you don’t eat frequently your insulin levels are out of control. You can rehabilitate them by changing your breakfast routine. Eat when you are actually hungry and avoid refined carbohydrates – even healthy ones like oatmeal.
