Jump Start Your Day with Breakfast (v.

2)
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Skipping the most important meal of the day may be doing you
more harm than you realize.
Not only does breakfast give you energy to start a new day, but
it’s also linked to many health benefits, including weight
control and improved performance.1
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Lifestyle Center
Why not jumpstart your day with a good breakfast?
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Unfortunately many people can’t face food when they crawl
out of bed.

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A quick cup of coffee (or tea), and maybe a doughnut or sweet
roll, is a standard adult breakfast.

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An increasing number of children arrive at school having eaten
nothing at all.

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Why is it that most people skip breakfast?2
The most common reasons people give are:
●They don’t have time

●They are not hungry in the morning

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Objects

●They want to lose weight

●(or they) Don’t realize its importance

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Eating breakfast simply makes good sense. Who would start
out on a trip without any gas in their car? So why should you

1 By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD, Reviewed on August 29, 2007, http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/many-
benefits-breakfast?page=3
2 Craig, Winston, Eating For Good Health, Golden Harvest Books, Eau Claire, Michigan, p. 63; American Academy of
Pediatrics, updated 10/9/2014, Healthy Children Magazine, Summer/Back to School 2009;
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/The-Case-for-Eating-Breakfast.aspxhttp://
yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/5-excuses-skipping-breakfast-and-how-overcome-them, November 12, 2012.
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 Jump Start Your Day with Breakfast (v. 2)
start your day without the necessary energy supply?

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A group of scientists spent 10 years studying the effects of
eating breakfast. A good breakfast, they concluded, can help
both children and adults…
●Be less irritable,
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●More efficient,

●More energetic,

●(and) Have better test scores and/or work performance

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According to the American Dietetic Association, children who
eat breakfast perform better in the classroom and on the
playground, with better concentration, problem-solving skills,
and eye-hand coordination.3

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One study that examined IQ and breakfast consumption of 1,269
6-year-olds, found that children who did not eat breakfast often
had 5.58 points lower verbal, 2.5 points lower performance, and
4.6 points lower total IQ scores than children who regularly ate
breakfast.4
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Studies have even linked healthy breakfasts with…
●Less chronic disease,

●Increased longevity
©Good Shoot #035070 ●(and) Better health.

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Others have shown that those who wait to eat until after
arriving at work do not perform as well in their work output.

3 By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD, Reviewed on August 29, 2007, http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/many-
benefits-breakfast?page=3
4 Jianghong Liu, Barbra Dickerman, Charlene Compher, and Wei-Ting Hwang, an associate professor of biostatistics in
the Perelman School of Medicine, http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/2013-06-06/research/nursing-study-finds-
breakfast-indeed-most-important-meal.
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 Jump Start Your Day with Breakfast (v. 2)

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Many people attempt to compensate for that mid-morning drop
in energy by drinking coffee, tea or a caffeinated soda, along
with something sweet—a doughnut, sweet roll or other high-
calorie snack.

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But what is a healthy breakfast?

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The culture may vary, but a good breakfast is
one that provides…

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at least one third to one half of the day’s calories, is high in
fiber, and is rich in vitamins and minerals.

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You may have heard the wise saying:

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“Eat breakfast like a king,

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lunch like a prince,

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and supper like a pauper.”

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Try starting your day with
a whole-grain cereal, whole-grain bread, and a couple of pieces
of fresh fruit, and you’ll find that your energy level stays high
all morning.
Look for breakfast cereals that provide at least 6 grams of fiber
©ADM per serving, but make sure your choice is low in sugar (less
than 10 grams per serving).5
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Cereals, bread and fruit are energy foods—carbohydrates—
which are easily converted into glucose—the fuel of the body.
These foods are also loaded with vitamins and minerals, and
rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants.6

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Someone may ask, “What about having coffee and a bun with
jam for breakfast?”

We need something more substantial, something with

more fiber in it.
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Low-fiber foods, especially sugary ones,
quickly pass into the bloodstream,7

5 Harvard Medical School, Harvard Health Publications, March 16, 2005,

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/HEALTHbeat_031605.htm
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Content source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, reviewed December 11, 2012,
http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/carbs.html
7 The Benefits of Fiber, http://www.webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/fiber-heart?page=3, reviewed October 29,
2010.
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and cause blood sugar levels to rise and then fall rapidly, often
well below normal levels. Low blood sugar may result in
physical problems including headache, false hunger, shaky
hands, poor vision and irritability. No wonder so many
people’s energy and efficiency levels drop off in the late
morning hours.8
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On the other hand, a high-fiber diet
prevents too rapid absorption,9

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ensuring a steady release of nutrients into the blood stream.
This results in consistent energy throughout the morning. Fiber
also absorbs water as it moves through the stomach and
intestines, preventing constipation.
Let’s compare some fiber-rich foods with similar,
but refined, foods.
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An orange has 2.5 grams of fiber,

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compared to 1 cup of orange juice, with only ½ gram.

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One slice of whole wheat bread has 2.2 grams,

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while white bread has just over ½ gram.
It would take more than four slices of white bread to equal the

8 Symptoms of Low Blood Sugar, http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/symptoms-of-low-blood-sugar-topic-overview,

June 24, 2013
9 Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet, http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-
depth/fiber/art-20043983, 2012.
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fiber in one piece of whole wheat bread.

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A owl of oatmeal has 4 grams of fiber,

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Objects
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compared to a bowl of Corn Flakes with ½ gram.

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Objects
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Very simple, unrefined plant foods are excellent sources of
dietary fiber,

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whereas animal products like eggs, meat, and dairy products
are virtually devoid of fiber.

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Fiber does far more than to just help maintain physical and
mental energy. It plays a crucial role in:
●Weight control

●Heart disease
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●Stroke

●Diabetes

●Polyps

●Colon cancer
Researchers found that men who regularly skipped breakfast
had a 27% higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary
heart disease than those who did eat a morning meal.10
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Why is it that most people skip breakfast?
The most common reason people give is,

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“I don’t have time to eat breakfast!”

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Too many people are in the habit of staying up late, then
sleeping in as long as they can in the morning.

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The solution?
Try going to bed early enough so you can wake up in the
morning feeling refreshed and with time to spare…

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10 Harvard School of Public Health, http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/skipping-breakfast-may-increase-coronary-

heart-disease-risk/, July 22, 2013 in the American Heart Association (AHA) journal Circulation.
The Benefits of Breakfast, http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/HEALTHbeat_031605.htm, March 16, 2005
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Begin the day by drinking a glass or two of water.

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Get outside in the fresh air for some active exercise, like a
brisk walk. Shower and dress for the day.

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Then eat a nourishing breakfast. It will boost your energy,
increase your attention span, and leave you feeling better.

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This also works well with children. Put them
to bed early enough…

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to wake up in time to join the family around the breakfast table.

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Unfortunately, many people are saying, “But I’m just not
hungry in the morning!”

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Why? Probably the biggest culprit is that
large meal in the evening,

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#AA003709

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and the late TV snacks.

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#AA003709
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At bedtime, the stomach is still busy digesting all that food.
Since digestion slows down during sleep, sometimes food is
still in the stomach in the morning.

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But the stomach needs rest too. An exhausted stomach does not
feel like breakfast.

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What is the solution?
Eat a light supper, at least four hours before bedtime.

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Eat or drink nothing but water after the evening meal.
We actually sleep much better on an empty stomach.

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What about weight loss?
With the increasing need to lose weight, many people believe
skipping breakfast will help them accomplish this goal.
Surprisingly, this is only an illusion. Breakfast studies
demonstrated that the omission of breakfast does not help in
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weight reduction. It’s actually a disadvantage because those who
do not eat breakfast experience increased hunger and eat more
snacks and food the rest of the day.11

11By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD, Reviewed on August 29, 2007, http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/many-
benefits-breakfast?page=3
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/skipping-breakfast-may-increase-coronary-heart-disease-risk/, July 22, 2013 in
the American Heart Association (AHA) journal Circulation.
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Be imaginative! Be creative! Breakfast can be made of almost
any nutritious food available to you.

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It’s quite interesting to read the Bible account of how God
provided His people with food as they journeyed to the Promised
Land.

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For forty years “He rained down manna for the people to eat,
He gave them the grain of heaven. Men ate the bread of
angels.” Psalm 78:24, 25 (NIV)
This manna was given once each day and it was
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always in the morning!
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Of course our breakfasts aren't rained down from heaven these
days, but God does cause the earth to bring forth many healthy
and tasty foods.
The bottom line? A good breakfast will boost your energy,
improve your health and mental function—and help you lose
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weight. Where can you find a better bargain than that?
A portion of this nugget comes from the book, Health Power, by Aileen Ludington, MD, and Hans Diehl, DrHSc, MPH,
Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000, p. 172-175.

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