Heart-healthy breakfast: the keys to looking after your heart at the start of the day

Our parents and grandparents have always told us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it is a well-known fact that a good breakfast is essential for maintaining good cardiovascular health. However, nowadays many people skip breakfast due to a lack of time or appetite. Some even believe that it can help them lose weight and that it is good for their health. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Various studies have shown that eating little or no breakfast can be as bad for your health as smoking or a sedentary lifestyle. A study conducted at Harvard University found that men who skipped breakfast were more likely to have a heart attack. Therefore, we can see that eating breakfast plays a more important role in preventing problems and maintaining good health than many people think.

What happens if you skip breakfast?

When you wake up, your stomach is empty and your brain needs sugar to function properly. During sleep, the body obtains glucose from the liver, so glucose levels remain stable. However, when you wake up, various hormonal systems are set in motion that need food to obtain the energy they need.

If you skip breakfast, you will be hungrier throughout the day, which can lead to you eating more at lunchtime or even eating unhealthy foods like biscuits or pastries in the middle of the morning. Also, skipping breakfast leads to higher levels of total cholesterol and LDL. It also alters your glucose and insulin levels, damaging your cardiovascular system.

What should a heart-healthy breakfast include?

Experts say that breakfast should provide 20-25% of your daily energy. Here are some tips for preparing a good breakfast:

-Dairy products: you should always include these because they provide plenty of calcium. You can have them as milk, yoghurt or unripened cheese. Try to avoid hard cheeses because they are high in salt and saturated fats.

– Cereals:  it is best if they are wholegrain. You can opt for bread or oatmeal, which has been found to be beneficial for people with cholesterol.

-Protein: you should include this in order to  energise your body. It should be low in fat, e.g. turkey slices or unripened cheese.

-Fruit:  it is best eaten whole so that you can benefit from all its properties and fibre. If you have it in juice, you lose all the fibre, and you also ingest a higher amount of sugar.

You can vary your breakfast throughout the week by introducing different types of seasonal fruits and having milk on some days and yoghurt on others. This way you won’t get bored of eating the same thing all the time.

You should try to avoid consuming processed products at breakfast as they often contain large amounts of substances that are harmful to your health, especially to your cardiovascular system, such as salt, sugar and hydrogenated fats.

In addition to these tips, there are some supplements that can support the cardiovascular system. One of them is Keriba Duo. It is great for helping to prevent cardiovascular problems. This supplement is composed of natural extracts obtained from the fresh fruits of the olive and the pomegranate. It comes in capsules and can be taken with breakfast.

Now you have seen how important eating a good breakfast is for cardiovascular health. We’re sure these tips will help you to plan your breakfasts. We’ve already taken note. What about you?