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Could eating breakfast could lower your heart disease risk?

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breakfast, egg, vegetable, whole grain, fruit, milk, heart healthYou may have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, is this really true or just an old wives’ tale?  Recent research does show that a high-quality breakfast can improve health-related quality of life. However along with this finding, a new study shows that eating this meal could lower your heart disease risk. Let’s learn a little more about the importance of your morning meal for overall health and how you can make it healthier.

Breakfast and quality of life

In a study of adolescents, those who consumed a poor quality breakfast had higher levels of stress and depression than those who skipped or had a high quality morning meal.  Those who consumed a high quality breakfast had the lowest levels of stress and depression. Therefore, it’s not just about whether you eat breakfast or not, but if you eat a high quality meal.

Another study looked more closely at the quality of breakfast that can bring about health benefits. This study found that a high-quality morning meal will be balanced with protein, fiber, and vitamins and nutrients like vitamins A, C, and D as well as calcium and iron.

Breakfast and heart health 

Not only may breakfast improve quality of life, but it could also extend your life. This is because a recent study found that eating breakfast could lower your risk of heart disease. This study looked at a sample of health data from over 6000 adults aged 40 to 75 years old over 17 to 23 years. Study results show that skipping your morning meal was linked with an increased risk of death from heart disease.

As previous studies have found though, this doesn’t mean that eating doughnuts and pastries with sugary coffee drinks each morning is healthy. Therefore, to make the most of your morning meal and have it benefit health, make it balanced.

How to create a healthy breakfast

Breakfast is not just good for heart health and mental health, but can also lower risk of chronic disease like diabetes. Because of its many potential health benefits, be sure to make your morning meal its best by using the following tips.

  • Start with a healthy protein. Cook up a few eggs, turkey bacon, and/or low sodium Canadian bacon for heart healthy proteins. And if you follow a meatless diet, then enjoy scrambled soft tofu with or without some black beans. Another meatless breakfast option is protein-rich Greek yogurt or oatmeal with chopped walnuts.
  • Add in gut-friendly fiber. Once you’ve chosen your protein base, add in some antioxidant and fiber-rich foods like fruits and vegetables. Throw some spinach in your omelette or top your oatmeal or yogurt with berries or sliced apples.  Other ideas include blending your yogurt with fruit for a drinkable balanced breakfast or sprinkling some chia seeds on your oatmeal, yogurt, or avocado toast.
  • Don’t forget healthy fats. Sliced avocado with eggs or spread on toast, or using olive oil to cook your eggs can add healthy fats to your morning meal. Other healthy fats you can add include nuts, seeds, and salmon (like smoked salmon on toast or a whole grain bagel).
  • Limit sugar intake. It can be tempting to enjoy a doughnut on the way to work or from the break room. Also, it can be just as easy to grab a whipped cream topped coffee drink to start your day. However, a sugary start can lead to unhealthy eating habits throughout the day. Therefore, stick to low sugar options. If you crave sugar in the morning, try instead a Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey or a delicious low sugar protein shake flavored with peanut butter, vanilla, or cocoa to help satisfy your sweet tooth.
  • Don’t drink your calories. Instead of sugary coffee drinks, stick to sugar-free options like coffee with sugar-free creamer and/or sweetener. Other low-calorie breakfast drinks include hot or iced tea with low-calorie sweetener, lemon or cucumber-infused water, unsweetened almond milk, or just plain water.

And just to be sure you consume your daily dose of nutrients, a supplement for heart health may also help. Circova by Vita Sciences contains natural ingredients like niacin, L-arginine, and hawthorne to help improve blood flow and blood pressure. Improvements like these can help lower heart health risk, along with a healthy diet of course.

References:

Ferrer-Cascales R, Sánchez-SanSegundo M, Ruiz-Robledillo N, Albaladejo-Blázquez N, Laguna-Pérez A, Zaragoza-Martí A. (August 2018) “Eat or Skip Breakfast? The Important Role of Breakfast Quality for Health-Related Quality of Life, Stress and Depression in Spanish Adolescents.”  Int J Environ Res Public Health. 15(8):1781.

Gibney MJ, Barr SI, Bellisle F, Drewnowski A, Fagt S, Livingstone B, Masset G, Varela Moreiras G, Moreno LA, Smith J, Vieux F, Thielecke F, Hopkins S. (May 2018) “Breakfast in Human Nutrition: The International Breakfast Research Initiative.” Nutrients. 10(5):559.

Rong, S., et al. (April 2019) “Association of Skipping Breakfast With Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 73 (16) 2025-2032.

Reduce carbs at breakfast to lower blood sugar

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breakfast, carbohydrate, diabetes, health, dietWhen you first wake up in the money, it may be easy to grab something quick like a donut, pastry, or a quick bowl of cereal. However, what you choose to eat for breakfast could very well set the tone for what you eat the rest of the day. In fact, research shows that if you reduce carbohydrate intake at breakfast, then you could help control your blood glucose levels. Let’s learn a little more about this study, about blood glucose levels, as well as ways you can reduce carbs at your next morning meal.

Reducing carbs at breakfast to lower blood glucose levels

A recent study looked at the impact of a high-fat, low carbohydrate breakfast meal on blood glucose levels over 24 hours. Study results show that post-meal, or postprandial, hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) were reduced with this diet as compared to standard diet (55% calories from carbohydrate, 30% calories from fat, 15% calorie from protein). Also, this higher fat, lower carbohydrate breakfast helped keep blood glucose levels more stable throughout the day than the standard diet.

How to eat a low-carb breakfast meal

The following low to no-carb foods can be used to build a delicious low-carb breakfast meal.

  • Eggs
  • Bacon
  • Ham
  • Turkey
  • Chicken
  • Cottage cheese
  • Low carb vegetables like peppers, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, kale, mushrooms, and spinach
  • Cheese
  • Plain Greek yogurt
  • Low carb fruits like strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries

Use this reference as a guide to other low-carb produce that can be added to your low carb meal.

Other ways to lower blood glucose levels

Besides making changes in your diet, read below for ways you can manage your blood glucose levels.

  • Stay active: Every step counts when it comes to your health. Therefore, be sure to stay active every day to help manage your blood glucose levels and keep your heart healthy. Staying active can help control blood glucose levels by making insulin more sensitive. Exercise will also help you to manage your weight and use the blood glucose you have for energy.
  • Manage stress: Stress can release hormones in the body that can raise blood glucose levels. Therefore, be sure to find ways to manage your stress levels. Walking, talking to a counselor, relaxation breathing, and yoga are some ways you can manage stress.
  • Drink plenty of water each day: The body is mostly made up of water, so its important for many processes in the body. When it comes to blood glucose, water can prevent dehydration and in turn help the body remove extra sugars from the body through your urine. Try to drink at least 8 cups of water or low to no calorie fluids per day. You may need more fluid each day depending on your height, weight, and activity level.
  • Check your blood glucose often:  If you have diabetes, then you should check your blood glucose levels often. This will help you track your progress and find areas of your diet or medication routine that may need to be tweaked. This will help you manage blood glucose levels better. Be sure to to visit your doctor at least once or twice a year to have labs checked and adjust your meds if needed.
  • Take a blood glucose control supplement: If you’re already eating a healthy diet and exercising, then the next step in lowering your blood glucose levels would be to add a blood glucose-lowering supplement if needed. Glucarex by Vita Sciences is an example of a blood glucose support supplement that could help you. Glucarex contains ingredients like chromium, alpha-lipoic acid, and cinnamon to naturally support healthy weight loss, metabolism, and blood glucose levels.

-written by Staci Gulbin, MS, MEd, RD of LighttrackNutrition.com

References:

Chang, C.R., Francois, M.E., and Little, J.P. (April 2019) “Restricting carbohydrates at breakfast is sufficient to reduce 24-hour exposure to postprandial hyperglycemia and improve glycemic variability.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Fletcher, J. (last reviewed January 26, 2018 by Maria Prelipcean, M.D.) “How can you lower your blood sugar levels?” Medical News Today.

University of California, San Francisco (accessed April 17, 2019) “Diabetes Education Online: Controlling Blood Sugar.”

Could Breakfast Improve Your Heart Health?

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Are you one of the 30-percent of the American adults that skips breakfast? Time and time again you may have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  A recent study has found that breakfast may improve heart health by reducing risk of heart disease.

Breakfast and Heart Disease Risk

According to the American Heart Association, eating more in the morning and less at night may reduce the odds for a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiac and blood vessel diseases. This is because those who skip breakfast tend to snack more throughout the day. Furthermore, such snack options may not be the healthiest choices. When people eat breakfast, they have been found less likely to have high cholesterol and high blood pressure. In addition, breakfast eaters tend to have less risk factors for heart disease such as obesity, diabetes, and overall poor nutrition.

It is thought that meal timing may be the primary reason for this correlation between breakfast eating and lower heart disease risk.  It is thought that humans do not process sugars as well in the night time hours as in the morning. Therefore, a person that eats breakfast will most likely in turn eat a sensibly-sized dinner. This sensible dinner, as opposed to snacking or overeating, will contain less sugar than the latter.  Therefore, breakfast eaters will likely have less chance of elevated blood glucose levels and excessive caloric intake that could lead to obesity and related conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.  However, there is a chance that some individuals that add breakfast could actually gain weight. This is likely related to the food choices and portion sizes that are being made during each meal time.

What is a healthy breakfast?

A healthy breakfast, or any healthy meal for that matter, should consist of a good balance of protein and fiber. Protein from lean meats, dairy products, eggs, or plant-based protein such as nuts, seeds, or beans would be balanced along with a fiber-rich serving of whole grains, fruits, or veggies. In addition, limiting salt intake, red meat, as well as high-sugar foods can also reduce risk of heart disease.

What else can I do to improve heart health?

Other lifestyle changes that can be made to improve heart health include:

  • planning and prepping meals ahead of time so you do not rely on convenience foods
  • having grab-and-go healthy snacks available if you have a busy schedule; examples include smoothies, portable fruit like apples, oranges, or bananas, or healthy non-perishable protein-rich foods such as nuts, seeds, and low-sodium turkey jerky
  • stopping “kitchen hours” at a certain time to prevent overeating at night and mindless snacking

Finally, you can also add a heart-healthy supplement to your daily regimen such as Alestra. Alestra is a plant-based supplement containing Gugulipid, niacin, garlic bulb herb powder, cayenne, and phytosterol concentrate.  It works to support healthy cholesterol levels and support heart health. Visit the Vitasciences website for more information on Alestra, or one of their other heart-healthy supplement products.

Be sure to visit the American Heart Association website at Heart.org for more information on the latest research and other helpful information on ways you can improve your heart health.

-written by Staci Gulbin, MS, MEd, RD, LDN

Sources:

Rapaport, Lisa (2017 Jan 31) “Skipping breakfast may be bad for your health, doctors say” Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cardiovascular-meal-timing-idUSKBN15F2GW

St.-Onge, M-P, et al. (2017 Jan 30) “Meal Timing and Frequency: Implications for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association.” Circulation, Volume 135: Issue 7.