4 breakfast foods to avoid

A few morning food staples are more harmful than beneficial to start the day with.

There is no gainsaying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but what many people don’t know is that there are a few morning food staples that are more harmful than beneficial to start the day with.

Health expert Dr Lisa Davis shares five breakfast no-nos. As compiled from askmen.com, Shape magazine, wellnessmama.com and the Daily Mail, here are four breakfast foods you should avoid.

Milk, yogurt and cheese



The basic problem with dairy is the harmful process of pasteurisation it involves. While this process reduces the small risk of milk contamination, it kills off the beneficial probiotics in milk, denatures its proteins, and transforms it from a source of nutrition into a source of multiple health troubles. Pasteurisation also turns milk’s lactose sugars into beta-lactose sugars, which the body absorbs more rapidly, causing blood sugar spike. In the morning, milk and dairy products, such as cheese, yogurt, cream, buttermilk and ice cream should be avoided. Butter, however, is healthier than the milk it is made from, as it mostly doesn’t comprise harmful milk proteins, including casein and BCM-7.

Sugar including fruit



Eating fruit, jam-packed with potassium for breakfast, causes the blood pressure to decrease. Low blood pressure in the morning makes it harder to feel energised. The term ‘sugar crash’, refers to the fact that after one consumes sugars, it not only ‘crashes’ one’s focus and energy but also one’s blood-sugar level. After consuming fruits or sugary snacks, blood sugars ascend naturally, causing the pancreas to secrete excess insulin. But the pancreas isn’t great at estimating how much insulin to release and usually overdoes it, secreting large amounts of insulin, which cause blood sugar to drop dramatically. This causes brain fog, sluggishness and food cravings.

All grains



Both gluten and non-gluten containing grains, such as oats and corn, are harmful for health because they contain gut-irritating lectins and mineral binding phytates. Gluten-containing grains break down in the gut into opioid compounds called gluteomorphins, which trigger the same receptors in the brain as other opiate drugs, such as heroin. If the brain is allowed to get ‘addicted’ to the opiates formed by grain digestion, it will lead to cravings that last for days after the last time grains were eaten. They slow down one’s metabolism and induce depression and anxiety.

Breakfast bars




They are sold as a healthy breakfast alternative for those with too much to do and too little time. Cereal bars are snapped up by workers and parents, who think they will provide a nourishing morning snack for their children. But research, conducted by Food Commission, US, shows they are not as wholesome as they seem. Independent analysis found they were laden with sugar and saturated fats. Many granola and breakfast bars have as many calories as a full-fledged dessert. Nutrition expert Charles Davis says, “Most commercial granola bars are basically oatmeal cookies in disguise, with a lot more sugar than you need.” He added, “An omelette or boiled eggs with a little natural peanut butter could be an ideal breakfast.”

Compiled By: Umnia Shahid 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2014.

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