Cereal – one of the most popular breakfast options for people in the UK – should never be eaten because it has hidden health implications, according to one food expert
Not only is cereal ‘one of the worst things you can start your morning with’ but it can actually make you more hungry throughout the day which can lead to serious health risks. For years the go-to breakfast meal for many Brits has been a bowl of cereal with milk. There are loads of different varieties on the supermarket shelves and most people have their favourite. They are quick to prepare and tasty, making them particularly popular with children and parents who need a speedy start to the day.
However one nutritional expert claims the humble breakfast cereal is one of the worst things we can eat at this time of the day. Despite lots of people believing that a sweet breakfast is a good way to provide the body with energy for the day ahead, she says that couldn’t be more wrong and may be the reason for bad food choices later in the day, which over time can lead to serious health conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
Biochemist Jessie Inchauspe, who has just hosted Channel 4 ’s Eat Smart: Secrets of the Glucose Goddess, shared the science-based evidence behind her thinking that the secret to improving your health lies in controlling your glucose spikes and not in dieting. She says even though glucose, which is found in starches and sugars, is our body’s main source of energy, eating too much of it during a meal causes our bodies to release insulin to get rid of it.
The surplus glucose is then stored away as glycogen or fat. So a sweet breakfast, although satisfying because it gives us pleasure with the release of dopamine, isn’t the best source of energy. The glucose spikes it causes, she says, “hurts our body’s ability to make energy efficiently, makes us tired, and kicks off all kinds of side effects”.
One of these is that we become hungry again sooner and the bigger the spike, the bigger the drop which leads to cravings for the rest of the day. “That breakfast will also deregulate our glucose levels for the rest of the day, so our lunch and dinner in turn will create bigger spikes,” she claims.
Instead, Jessie, who has over 4.5m followers online and two international, number one bestselling books, strongly recommends we should eat a savoury breakfast with protein, fibre and fat instead of a sweet one. So instead of sweet pastries, cereal, or fruit juices and smoothies, which cause a huge spike in most people, opt for something egg-based such as an omelette with avocado or one with cheese and mozzarella. Try to include a vegetable such as tomato, spinach or mushrooms too for their fibre content.
On the two-part C4 show she proved her theories with people who were suffering from food-related disease and ailments, including acne and diabetes, which can be life-threatening and is caused by too much glucose in the body. All of the six participants who had their daily glucose levels studied and followed her advice saw their conditions hugely improve. Some of those with diabetes were even able to stop their medication after just six weeks on her plan because they had reversed the disease.
Do you prefer a sweet or savoury breakfast? Let us know in the comments below.
