“Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments,” – said American television personality Bethenny Frankel. If so, are we really taking care of this account? Especially the youth, do they have enough investments there to deal with the deterioration of immunity as they grow old?
“I don’t remember when I took my breakfast as a routine meal for the last time,” shares Nishu Faiz, a third-year student of the English Department at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.
Before the pandemic, when she used to have classes in the morning, she always missed breakfast in a rush. And when the pandemic came, the situation didn’t improve, rather took a new turn.
“When there was no class or important task to do in the morning there was literally no reason to wake up early. No matter what (normal time or pandemic), my day starts with lunch, and it’s been happening for the last 7 years!”
“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” – This wonderful quote from Adelle Davis, an American author, is quite familiar to most people who have a fair knowledge of nutrition. It implies- never miss breakfast, have a light lunch and a lighter dinner.
But what Nishu said she has been doing regularly for a long time, it’s probably just the opposite of the ideal what most of the people usually do. And this negligence to food habit mostly grows in the university years, shared Sizan Ahmed, another university student. This master’s student from DU journalism explains how he forgot the taste of breakfast during his campus years.
“When I arrived here (DU) with a routine food habit, I constantly struggled to maintain that. I missed on timely dinner, went out with friends late at night to have food from Palashi. As a result, woke up late during the day. Sleeping late made me forget the first light of the morning, as well as the taste of breakfast.”
Again, we got another view from Zahin Islam, a classmate of Nishu, who was so much motivated by the quotation of Adelle Davis. She had to attend classes after taking care of her husband and children as well as studying. In the process, she could never have a breakfast that would provide her with sufficient energy and nutrients.
The author, in a conversation, asked Dr Mahmuda Nahar, gynaecologist and paediatrician of Tajuddin Medical College Hospital, for her take on why youths neglect to have routine meals. This is what the doctor has to say-
“Nowadays there is a tendency to control diet from a very young age. With less experience and acquaintance, they think diet means just ‘not eating.’ And once they get into the habit of not eating, breakfast is on top of the cancellation list before anything. In the long run, they suffer from various complications including malnutrition.”
“Not only does skipping breakfast drops your blood sugar level, it slows down the metabolism, increases levels of stress hormone and risk of heart diseases,” added Dr Mahmuda.
In English, ‘breakfast' means literally ‘breaking the fast’ since the night before you've been sleeping. Eating in the morning aids in the restoration of glycogen and the stabilisation of insulin levels.
You will feel overly hungry, angry, and weary if you ignore and do not restore glucose levels in the morning. These are the first signs you'll notice in the morning, especially if you skip your breakfast, warns Dr Mahmuda regarding ignoring the morning breakfast.
Eating breakfast may help your body burn more calories throughout the day. When you don't eat for a long time, your body starts storing calories to prepare for a possible period of hunger. As metabolism slows, the body uses glucose stored in muscles as a backup fuel source, causing muscles to waste away.
Breakfast can help reduce cortisol, the key ‘stress hormone' generated by the adrenal glands. Cortisol levels are seen to be at a peak around 7:00 am, so eating something helps to bring the hormone levels down. Too much cortisol makes you feel anxious or jittery.
People are now more conscious of food nutrition with the facilities of the internet. So, it shouldn’t be taken as a tough task to go through the calculation of nutrition, digestion, metabolism, energy, etc. before setting a regular meal or a diet routine.
Here are few hacks that may help you in taking a healthy breakfast regularly:
- Growing the habit of going to bed early may help you to have a sound sleep at night and feel hungry in the morning as you wake up early.
- Start with small and light (fresh fruits/juice) and include some protein (protein shake/ boiled egg).
- Break your meal into small snacks if you have distaste immediately after waking up.
- Get up at least 15 minutes earlier than you need.
- You’re not bound to have so-called ‘breakfast foods’; you just never should miss having something healthy and energetic in the morning.
Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Maybe that one step of having a healthy breakfast regularly can take you to the beginning of a healthy and happy life.