Breakfast Dos and Don'ts

Continued from our Retreat & Renew Daily Tip.

Boost your breakfast’s good-for-you quotient with these four simple steps:

DO:

Get your juice on. Animal-based research from Texas A&M University suggests that regular intake of antioxidant-rich orange juice or grapefruit juice might help strengthen bones and guard against osteoporosis.

DON’T:

Snub whole grains. Enhancing your morning meal with whole grains such as oatmeal, whole-wheat toast, or brown rice may help protect against heart disease, according to a study from Archives of Internal Medicine.

DO:

Keep it low-glycemic. Ridding your breakfast of high-glycemic foods (i.e., foods that spike your blood sugar levels) might help you shed pounds especially if you tend to work out right after your morning meal. In a study from The Journal of Nutrition, researchers found that sticking with low-glycemic foods (including muesli and
all-bran cereal) may help you burn more fat when exercising post-breakfast.

DON’T:

Go fat-free. In a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, scientists discovered that eating a carb-rich breakfast and a high-fat dinner could contribute to weight gain and mess with your blood sugar levels. Choosing healthy fats like almond butter, salmon, or flaxseed, on the other hand, may help keep your metabolic health in check.