5 ‘standard’ breakfasts that are really bad for you
Breakfast – whether you do or don’t eat it; everyone can imagine that some choices are wiser than others. While I sometimes see young people at a bus stop in the morning downing a can of energy drink and a cigarette (I assume as a kind of breakfast, because the wholegrain content usually isn’t exactly shining through either), I prefer to eat something later in the morning, preferably leftovers from the day before. But hey, to each their own! Although there are also quite a few ‘standard’ breakfast products that nutrition experts advise against.
Because some of these things are very popular, but according to some dietitians they could shorten your life if you consume them on a very regular basis.
Sugary breakfast cereals
Easy and quick, sure, but if you make it a daily habit to fill your bowl in the morning with Frosties or something similar, dietitian Courtney D’Angelo says you may well be shaving some time off your lifespan. Lots of sugar and little protein will cause your blood sugar levels to spike quickly and then crash, much like you, really. You’ll get hungry again sooner than after a high-fiber breakfast with less sugar, and you also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, she says.
Breakfast bacon
Yes, unfortunately. But you really should regard crispy bacon as something you can eat only very occasionally, because just like processed meats, regular consumption of it has been proven to be bad for you. Additives such as nitrites are also bad for your microbiome, and a healthy gut plays an important role in your overall health, according to D’Angelo.
Sweet pastries, muffins and donuts
Treating yourself to a cronut, an almond croissant or a really big, round muffin every now and then is incredibly festive. But you shouldn’t make a habit of it. They’re generally substantial calorie bombs packed with sugar. We also don’t know exactly why you would want to eat a donut every day, but D’Angelo’s advice and comments here are the same as with sugary breakfast cereals. They only make you crave more, while you’ve already stuffed yourself with sugars and fats, and the inevitable sugar crash afterward is just waiting to happen.
Sausages
In the Netherlands, there may not really be a ‘sausages for breakfast’ culture. Unlike, for example, a Full English Breakfast, and breakfast sausages are also popular in America. But be honest: do you always make a beeline for the sausages at a breakfast buffet? Then you need to be careful not to do this too often when you travel regularly. Dietitian Kimberly Duffy explains that this, too, is often highly processed meat that can increase the risk of cancer. They also contain a lot of salt and saturated fats, increasing the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Sweet coffee drinks
Not really food, but still more of a dessert than a breakfast, you might think. The insane creations you can order at Starbucks and other chains, only to sit there spooning and slurping down a towering whipped-cream-caramel-chocolate-syrup concoction, aren’t exactly good breakfast options. A cup of coffee, preferably without sugar and milk from a health perspective, doesn’t have to be bad for you at all. But you can’t start the day healthily with the extreme amounts of sugar in these kinds of drinks. They increase your risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, says expert Dana Hunnes, as well as inflammation levels in your body.
Read also:
- 5 things you shouldn’t eat and drink too often if you want to take good care of your heart
- This healthy snack keeps you feeling full for longer
- Baristas are cracking up: these are the most bizarre coffee orders #2
Source: Eat This
