The important role of breakfast for a healthy diet

Within the framework of National Breakfast Day, the Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN) has held an online event to promote healthy breakfast and give the keys to improve it. It is one of the most important meals of the day.

Toast with olive oil/EPA

Breakfast is part of a healthy diet. East provides about 20% of daily energy, so its daily intake is recommended.

The Spanish Nutrition Foundation has compiled a series of data on the ‘Infant-Youth Breakfast in Spain’ to review the “Role of breakfast and its quality in the health of children and adolescents”.

Composition of a good breakfast

Varied, balanced and satisfying are the keys to a healthy breakfast.

According to the latest review carried out by experts, “there is no ideal breakfast but there are many combinations that have to be adapted to personal, geographical and cultural needs and circumstances”.

To comply with this, specialists recommend avoid high-calorie, low-nutrient-dense foods, they only contribute calories, fat, sodium or sugar to the total intake of the day.

Breakfast should include at least three main food groups; a food from the cereal group (preferably whole/whole grain), milk or a milk product and a fruit (preferably whole).

exposes the study.

Nutritional pyramid adapted for children. Photo: IMEO

To complement there is a fourth group such as olive oil, vegetables, nuts, protein foods (eggs, ham, salmon, legumes…).

Combining all this provides the body with complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, water and an adequate quantity and quality of fat.

Experts also point out that completing our breakfast properly contributes to meeting the needs of vitamins and mineralswithout forgetting the presence of bioactive compounds of great interest for health.

“Consuming a healthy breakfast is associated with higher daily nutrient intake, better adherence to nutritional recommendations, and better overall diet quality.”

points out the FEN

Breakfast for children and adolescents

Several studies have shown how children and adolescents who eat breakfast regularly consume higher amounts of energy, dietary fiber, fruits and vegetables, whole grains and dairy products, and fewer sugary drinks, compared to those who skip this meal of the day.

In addition, those who do eat breakfast have a higher daily intake of some micronutrients such as calcium, iron, folate, potassium, magnesium, zinc and iodine, compared to those who do not eat breakfast.

According to studies, more than half of adolescents ate breakfast as a family (with parents and siblings) and approximately 40% ate breakfast alone. In addition, it was observed that adolescents were one of the population groups that most skipped breakfast.according to the International Breakfast Research Initiative (IBRI).

Another noteworthy fact of the study reflects how children learn eating habits from their parents, grandparents or siblings, as well as from their caregivers and colleagues or friends.

“It has been seen that sharing breakfast with the family in 10-year-old children is associated with a higher frequency of breakfast consumption at 16 years of age.”

Pick up the report.

breakfast in spain

The data obtained from the review cites the ALADINO 2015 study indicating that “93 percent of the participants ate breakfast every day.”

“The most frequent breakfast (49.7%) was a dairy (milk, milkshake or yogurt) plus a food from the cereal group (biscuits, breakfast cereals or bread/toast). Only 2.8% had a quality breakfast (with milk, cereal and fruit)”.

It also mentions the ANIBES survey where “85% of Spaniards were regular breakfast consumers (that is, they had breakfast on the three days evaluated)”.

“A higher proportion of children and older people ate breakfast regularly (93%), followed by adults (84%) and then adolescents (80%).” And only 25% of the Spanish population had a breakfast with sufficient energy and adequate variety or “complete” (20% or more of the total energy ingested and containing three or more food groups). While 38% ate an “incomplete” breakfast (less than 10% of total energy intake and containing one or two food groups).”

experts say.

In addition, the 37% had an “acceptable” breakfast (10-20% of total energy intake and three or more food groups or 20% or more of total energy intake and two food groups).

Infographic from the EFE Agency “Breakfast in Spain”

The study highlights that the food groups least consumed by children and adolescents are cheese and fresh fruit. Just as whole foods were scarce.

Both children and adolescents consumed added sugars (mainly from chocolates, bakery and pastries/cakes) and sugar.

A health risk

Various studies reflect how eating breakfast is related to a lower prevalence of overweight and obesity. Also with a healthier profile of cardiometabolic biomarkers (diabetes, insulin resistance, blood pressure and lipid profile).

Regarding cognitive function, although there is no uniformity in the results either, since the methodology for evaluating school performance is variable and complex, many studies observe that ‘eating breakfast is more beneficial than not having it’, especially in children with a worse situation nutritional and younger.

nutritionists say.

Therefore, healthy breakfast should be part of a daily diet as a main meal.

It is recommended that it be consumed daily, in good proportions and that it be as balanced as possible to allow you to cope with everyday life, as well as help reduce the development of cardiometabolic diseases.

Healthy food, what does it consist of?

Healthy food, what does it consist of?

Dr. Antonio Escribano is also a specialist in Physical Education and Sports Medicine, and professor of Physiology, Nutrition and Sports at the University of Navarra.

He has coordinated the nutrition area in more than twenty football teams in Spain and Europe; and he is a member of the Nutrition and Healthy Habits Commission of the Spanish Olympic Committee.

He is also the medical manager of the nutrition area of ​​the Spanish Basketball and Football Federations and has given more than 300 conferences at different national and international scientific events, in addition to participating in radio and television programs to address health issues.

Antonio Escribano has published this year the book «Learn to eat and control your weight» (Ed.Espasa). This is his contribution to EFEsalud to collaborate with a correct diet.

Healthy food, what does it consist of?

by Antonio Escribano

In our environment, the relationship between “food” and “health”, although it seems strange, is quite recent. In previous times, our ancestors simply ate “what they could”, without entering into discrimination of any kind and, of course, without relating food to anything more than a survival strategy and not as a determinant of present and future health.

Dr. Antonio Escribano/Photo provided by the specialist himself

Therefore, it is necessary to raise the need to acquire knowledge and receive information about food and nutrition. In short: “Learn to Eat”. In this way we will be able to decide with solvency on the two key and transcendent aspects of our food management and in this way direct it towards improving our health: what we eat and in what quantity.

In these two aspects it is possible to practically summarize what a healthy diet is, the first being the one that requires what could be learning and the second an adaptation or small effort, and both together an attention and “being aware” of as many other things in our life.

The complementarity of food

Nutrients are provided by all the foods, not existing a complete food, and if a complementarity between all of them. Precisely this makes it necessary to consciously and premeditatedly ingest a variety and combination of them that in a balanced way provide everything you need.

Regardless of the purely energetic function, food has a “functional” capacity, that is, it must provide something more so that when consumed, improvements are caused in certain functions and in our body in general, even acting as preventive and sometimes as treatment of different diseases.

Today we know that we are born with a certain genetic endowment, which we call a “genome” and that it could be a kind of “hardware” in our genetic inheritance, but at the same time we have an “epigenome”, as a “software” that in a certain way mode is modifiable and can largely determine the expression of present and future diseases.

And we also know that one of the circumstances that intervenes in the positive or negative modification of that epigenome is the diet that we carry out in our lives.

seven food groups

EPA/Everett Kennedy Brown

Foods are classified as energetic, plastic and regulatory, and based on these properties we classify them into seven groups: 1.- Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt), 2.- Meat, fish, eggs, 3.- Potatoes, legumes, fruits dried, 4.- vegetables, 5.- Fruits, 6.- Cereals and sugars and 7.- Oils and fats.

A healthy and healthy diet must first combine several foods from each of the 7 groups in a certain sequence and simple organization that establishes the “qualitative” key of food.

Once the qualitative component has been structured, we must bear in mind the second aspect: the amount we eat. And at this point we must impose a word above all: moderation. The human being works better and lives longer when he eats small amounts.

Gastronomy has been and is essential in our physiological and cultural evolution. The way of preparing food can and should be varied and we must include all our knowledge and skills in the kitchen. The entire range of flavors that provides the gastronomic and culinary richness that we want to apply is perfectly compatible if we play with the quantities and qualities as we have described.

Anxiety should not be channeled towards food

Finally, we must be careful with our habits and tendencies and we must frequently analyze and reconsider them. It is important to learn not to channel anxiety and boredom into food. Try to eat slowly and learn to “taste” food. We must also know how to dose our “exceptions”. Be very careful with the alcohol and condiments that we apply to our dishes and be very moderate in both aspects.

If we add adequate rest and a little more than an hour of physical activity to all that has been said, we will have completed a perfect healthy circle that our body will appreciate in the short, medium and fundamentally in the long term.