Breakfast Waking Up to a Healthy Start Reprinted from Food Insight March/April 1992 Waking up is hard to do. It's especially difficult for those "non-morning" people who'd probably like to avoid that time of day and everything that comes with it -- even breakfast. But as sure as the sun's gonna shine, breakfast always will be an important meal of the day -- one that should be consumed by people of any age. Although all three traditional meals play a significant role in supplying the daily recommended levels of essential nutrients, nutritionists often cite breakfast as the day's most important meal and the foundation of healthy eating habits. Despite these recommendations, millions of Americans routinely skip breakfast. According to a 1987 report in Cereal Foods World, one out of four women between the ages of 25 and 34 regularly skips breakfast. Other studies show that eating habits developed during childhood have the potential to last a lifetime. Thus children who tend to omit breakfast most likely will continue this dietary habit well into adulthood. But a review of breakfast-related research over the last 30 years may make even the tried-and-true breakfast skipper into a breakfast convert. Studies have shown that eating breakfast is associated with improved strength and endurance in the late morning, along with a better attitude toward school or work. Breakfast helps to replenish blood glucose levels, which is important since the brain itself has no reserves of glucose, its main energy source, and constantly must be replenished. Studies show that sustained mental work requires large turnover of brain glucose and its metabolic components. "When you consider it's been eight or nine hours since you've had a meal, it's obvious that refueling at breakfast will make you feel and perform better during the day," said Diane Odland, nutritionist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Information Service. Researchers at the University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School agree. They examined whether eating breakfast has any advantageous effects on late-morning mood, satiety or cognitive performance. Forty normal-weight adults participated in the breakfast study, all of whom normally ate breakfast. Subjects fasted overnight and came to the laboratory in the early morning to perform baseline tests that measured reasoning, inference and problem-solving. While one-third of subjects continued fasting, others ate one of two breakfasts that each contained 450-500 calories. In the high-fiber "balanced" breakfast, 59 percent of calories were supplied by carbohydrates and roughly 20 percent of calories were supplied by protein and fat each. In the low-fiber "unbalanced" breakfast, 61 percent of calories came from carbohydrates, 35 percent were supplied by fat and 4 percent were supplied by protein. Study Results Participants were tested for cognitive performance 30 minutes after mealtime, and then two hours and four hours later. Results confirmed that eating breakfast of either nutritional composition was beneficial. Skipping breakfast consistently caused hunger and led to performance difficulties on tasks requiring concentration. "Eating breakfast of any kind prevented many of the adverse effects of fasting," such as irritability and fatigue, according to principal investigator, Bonnie Spring, Ph.D. Spring added that those who ate the balanced breakfast scored significantly higher on tests than those who ate the unbalanced breakfast. In terms of suppressing hunger, the balanced breakfast also was most effective. The unbalanced breakfast suppressed hunger only relative to fasting; but four hours later, those who ate the unbalanced breakfast were as hungry as those who fasted. School Breakfast Program The potential role of breakfast in helping children perform at peak capacity in the classroom was first documented more than 30 years ago at the University of Iowa Medical College. Researchers found that children who skipped breakfast had trouble concentrating at school and became inattentive and restless by late morning. These behavior problems were linked to low blood sugar levels, which had never been replenished by a morning meal and allowed fatigue, irritability and restlessness to develop. Such behaviors are counter-productive to learning. These and other findings helped confirm the hypothesis that children who go to school hungry cannot perform well. To address this problem, Congress enacted the school breakfast program as part of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Today, nearly 37,000 schools nationwide offer the breakfast program, reaching a total of 4 million children daily. The federal subsidy allows schools to make breakfasts that meet certain nutritional guidelines available to children on a reduced-cost basis, or free to those from low-income families. In addition to improved cognitive functioning, breakfast has been shown to have other benefits. A 1987 study of third to sixth grade Massachusetts schoolchildren found that children participating in a school breakfast program had improved test scores as well as reduced rates of tardiness and absenteeism. How does the breakfast impact adults? Much of the breakfast research on adults has focused on this meal's overall nutritional contribution to the daily diet. Breakfast Tips Avoid the temptation to be a breakfast skipper by following these quick tips from USDA's Human Nutrition Information Service: No time? Build a breakfast around foods that are ready to eat or take little preparation time. There are plenty that qualify: fresh and canned fruits, milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, ready-to-eat cold cereals and instant breakfast mixes. Take it to go...Try celery stuffed with peanut butter or a meat or cheese spread, dried fruits or vegetable juices. Perk up cereals...Top cereals with fruit or stir chopped nuts such as peanuts, pecans and walnuts into cooked cereal. Not hungry yet? Drink juice. Something is better than nothing. Have some bread or crackers later in the morning, then drink some milk and eat some cheese, an egg or peanut butter. Don't skip if you're on a diet. There's no evidence that skipping meals will help you lose weight. In fact, studies show that most people who skip breakfast tend to eat more later in the day. Some even select more calorically-dense foods than those who eat breakfast. Breakfast and Nutrition Researchers at USDA's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University analyzed three-day diet records of 650 Boston area senior citizens to find what foods contributed the most calories in their diets. Selecting optimal diets are critical to the aged, many of whom are trying to lose or control their weight for effective disease management. Other elderly, however, are at risk for undernutrition due to social and physical problems. Of the various eating patterns that emerged, the diet in which most of the breakfast calories were supplied by cereal, milk and fruit provided the best nutritional profile overall among those tested. According to Tufts researcher Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., the vitamin-fortified breakfast cereals, as well as the vitamins in milk, helped participants reach the recommended dietary allowances for calcium and vitamins B6, riboflavin and folate. The nutritional benefits of breakfast cereals also were shown in a recent survey of more than 4,000 households by General Mills, Inc. Adults who ate cereal for breakfast consumed an average of 10 percent fewer calories than those who selected other breakfast foods, with only 20 percent of their calories coming from fat. Moreover, those who ate cereal for breakfast maintained a better nutritional profile over the entire day than when they opted for other breakfast menus. For example, on days when participants ate cereal for breakfast, they ate fewer calories from fat throughout the day and 40 percent less cholesterol. They also consumed 20 percent more of essential vitamins and minerals than on non-cereal days. Thus, for kids as well as adults, balanced breakfast choices can help provide the healthy edge needed for optimum physical performance. For those who don't yet consume breakfast, it's never too late to wake up to a healthy start. Reprinted from the International Food Information Council Foundation, 1992

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