A Terrible Way To Start The Day
As parents have told their children for generations, 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'. This statement does not only pertain to children, but to adults as well. The benefits of breakfast are numerous, here are a few examples:
- breakfast provides a source of energy to start the day
- breakfast turns the body "on" on the morning, improving metabolism
- eating a breakfast with lean protein can keep you fuller longer, leading to less snacking
- it can provide you with a substantial amount of vitamins and minerals when consuming a balanced breakfast
The issue that arises for many adults is that the morning can be a hectic way to start the day and finding any time to eat is often wondrous feat. A large amount of adult breakfasts are eaten on the go so that means the food must be portable. One of the most common foods eaten in the morning by adults is the bagel and cream cheese combo. Sure this combination tastes delicious but what does it really offer someone from a nutritional standpoint? One of the more popular brands of cream cheese has the following nutritional information:
- Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1 oz
- Amount per Serving
- Calories 100
- Total Fat 9g
- Saturated Fat 6g
- Cholesterol 30mg
- Sodium 105mg
- Total Carbohydrate 1g
- Dietary Fiber 0g
- Sugars 1g
- Protein 2g
- Source: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/philadelphia/cream-cheese/
Couple that with a plain bagel (there are so many varieties of bagels from so many companies we'll just use one as an example but these values can easily change from brand to brand):
- Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1 bagel
- Amount per Serving
- Calories 260
- Total Fat 2g
- Saturated Fat 0.5g
- Cholesterol 0mg
- Sodium 490mg
- Total Carbohydrate 51g
- Dietary Fiber 2g
- Sugars 6g
- Protein 9g
- Source: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/generic/thomas-plain-bagel/
On the surface, this may not seem too bad, only 360 calories, 11g of protein, fairly low cholesterol, and low amounts of sugar but this is kind of where the honeymoon ends. There is a large amount of saturated fat located in the cream cheese and when you look at where the calories come from as a whole, you will see that the amount of protein compared to the carbohydrates and fats is very low. There are also very little vitamins and minerals in these food items, thus lowering their overall health benefit coupled with only a 12.2% protein composition.
As an alternative, here is one of my more favorite breakfast meals for less than 360 calories:
- 1 whole egg - 78 calories, 6.3g protein 18.3% protein
- Source: http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-egg-whole-i1129
- 2 egg whites - 32 calories, 7.2g protein
- Source: http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-egg-white-i1124
- 1 avocado - 240 calories, 3g protein
- Source: http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-avocados-i9037
Not only do you get 4.5g of protein more, they are higher quality grams of protein. You also receive a huge amount of vitamins and minerals from the egg yolk and avocado. The avocado also provides you with a large amount of monounsaturated fats (the really good kind of fat - learn more about 'What is Fat?'). Granted you do get a bit more cholesterol from the egg yolk but it is a lighter and fluffier type of cholesterol which is far less damaging than the heavier, denser cholesterol. I am not saying to throw out the bagel and cream cheese combo entirely but you should consider limiting how often you indulge in this duo.