If cereal is your go-to breakfast, it may be lowering your energy levels before the day starts.
eat grains high in sugarand other simple carbohydrates According to internist Dr. Nancy Raanama, white bread quickly breaks down into sugar, causing blood sugar levels to spike. Clinical nutritionist.
“And anything that soars crashes,” Raanama told CNBC Make It. “This high-end crash and burn leads to fatigue, irritability, mood changes, headaches and hunger throughout the day. [and] craving. “
Hyperglycemic carbohydrates, also called simple carbohydrates, Feel refreshed and alert in the morningRaphael Vallat, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Human Sleep Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, says eating them for breakfast also increases them.
I would never recommend a patient to eat cereal for breakfast just because it is processed.
Dr. Nancy Raanama
Physician and Clinical Dietitian
But these foods aren’t just limited to grains. Experts say potatoes, white rice, white toast, muffins and donuts have the same effect.
Instead, for breakfast, you want to aim for foods that are low in blood sugar and high in complex carbohydrates and fiber, says Rahnama.
Breakfast foods that keep you energized
Instead of cereal, white toast, and muffins, the complex carbs that Rahnam and Vallat recommend for breakfast include:
- Whole Bread (Consider Adding Nut Butter)
- Whole Grain Oats/Overnight Oats
- Protein shake (add chia seeds for more protein)
- egg
- brown rice
“I would never recommend cereal for breakfast to a patient just because it’s processed. I wouldn’t recommend anything processed,” says Rahnama.
If you enjoy cereal for breakfast, try unprocessed overnight oats or granola, she adds.
Additionally, if all you can eat is cereal, opt for fiber-rich, low-sugar options.
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