Studies have long suggested that there are major benefits to eating breakfast consistently. Photo / Getty Images
With fry-ups, toast, and even cereals often demonised, many of us have given up on breakfast – but it’s time to reconsider.
A simple bowl of cornflakes used to do the job. Now we’re running scared, thanks to fears around ultra-processed foods, glucose spikes, and
Breakfast was once the king of meals, so how has it become the most confusing?
Studies have long suggested that those who eat breakfast ended up slimmer than those who didn’t. But in recent years, however, a combination of demonising our favourite breakfast foods, plus the popularity of intermittent fasting, has tarnished its crown.
For Dr Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed, a gastroenterologist and food writer, we’ve got ourselves into a sad state of affairs.
“Breakfast is a bit of a hot mess in nutrition terms,” she says. “But it’s important to remember that there are shades of grey,” she says.
It is a difficult meal to study in scientific terms. That’s because breakfast isn’t one, homogenous lump eaten by the same biological person at the same time every single day. As a result, black and white statements about what you should or shouldn’t be eating or doing, should elicit caution, says Mahmood-Ahmed.
“People love giving didactic advice and saying this is bad, this is good,” she says, adding: “Anyone who says something dramatic about breakfast is invariably going to be wrong.”
So what are the sweeping statements that you should observe with caution?
Toast is a quick and easy breakfast, but is it too convenient to be good for us?
Mahmood-Ahmed is a fan of the humble slice of toast. “Toast deserves a bit of a revival to be honest,” she says. “Brown bread is a fantastic source of fibre for people.”
While you should avoid shop-bought white bread where possible, she sees nothing wrong with having toast for breakfast: “Especially if it’s brown sourdough. There is an opportunity to really use breakfast as a tool to optimise gut health too.”
It isn’t just something you put butter on and have with a cup of tea. “I love experimenting with toppings on my toast,” says Mahmood-Ahmed.
A regular go-to topping is protein rich peanut butter paired with a homemade chia seed raspberry jam. In the summer she had tomatoes and olive oil on her toast.
“At the moment it’s winter and we’re all feeling a bit grotty. I’ve been having labneh, which is strained live Greek yogurt, spread over my toast as a natural probiotic. Sometimes I have sauerkraut.”
The morning is also a good time to take advantage of heightened insulin sensitivity (even more so after a workout) and to enjoy carbs at breakfast with less risk of weight gain: “Your mitochondria are more likely to use those carbs as fuel. Aim for complex carbs to keep blood sugar stable.”
As well as prioritising whole grain options, Michal Mor, the chief growth officer and co-founder at metabolic health company Lumen, recommends pairing toast with protein and healthy fats, like eggs and avocado.
“This minimises your blood glucose spike post-meal, contributing to greater insulin sensitivity and a healthier metabolism. When you are more insulin sensitive, you are less likely to store the food you eat as body fat, making it easier to maintain a healthy weight.”
Experts such as Professor Tim Spector have spoken in favour of time-restricted eating in recent years, advocating a later breakfast to benefit your gut bacteria
However, there is no evidence that skipping breakfast improves weight loss beyond the fact it restricts calorie intake.
“I don’t advise anyone to start intermittent fasting if it’s not something they can build into their lifestyle,” says Mahmood-Ahmed. “A lot of restrictive regimens are hard for people to maintain long term, and then you fall into trouble.”
Hannah Whittaker, a dietitian, agrees. In her clinic she sees adults skipping breakfast in an attempt to save calories, only for it to backfire mid-morning.
It’s then that you might make a poor nutritional choice, reaching for that convenient croissant. “What I see with my patients is that if they don’t have breakfast, they tend to overeat later in the day. Or by mid-morning they grab something sugary or sweet to give them a boost.”
There are other reasons why skipping breakfast won’t suit everyone. Studies of children have shown how important breakfast is for aiding concentration and cognitive performance.
And if you are performing high-impact workouts, such as weightlifting, in the morning you will need to fuel up before hitting the gym.
“This is because during high-intensity exercise, your mitochondria require carbs for fuel. In this scenario, skipping breakfast could cause your body to break down muscle for fuel during your workout, taking you farther from your fitness goals,” says Mor.
If you have spent years asking for an egg white only omelette, then it is time to put the yolk back on your plate.
Current research shows that for most people, the cholesterol in eggs has little impact on blood cholesterol levels, so there’s no need to limit egg intake unless advised by your doctor. “Including eggs as part of a balanced breakfast is a nutritious choice,” says Whittaker.
“Eggs are packed with nutritional benefits. Not only are they a great source of protein, they also contain many essential vitamins and minerals, including B12, choline and selenium.
Eggs are so versatile, quick to prepare, and their quality protein can help to keep you fuller for longer.”
As with any food, it’s all about balance. Whittaker recommends eggs two or three times per week for a nutritious breakfast. A portion size is half to one egg for a child and two medium sized eggs for an adult.
“I would never recommend the same food each day,” she says. “It’s good to switch things up a bit. So have eggs one day and then, wholegrain cereal, toast, or overnight oats another.”
With all the hubbub around UPFs, you might now struggle to look at a box of cereal and not feel worried about the hidden sugars. However, Mahmood-Ahmed is against demonising certain foods. “It’s actually damaging for people, because it narrows down the scope of what people can eat.”
And yes, while there might be some sugar in your favourite cereal, that doesn’t mean they are wholly bad. “People say Weetabix is terrible for you because it’s ultra processed but actually it’s a good source of fibre and has a lot of nutrients added to it. Breakfast cereals are the way lots of children get folic acid,” says Mahmood-Ahmed.
Of course, some are worse than others. In general, you are better off having a bowl of Bran Flakes or Weetbix than CocoPops or Frosties.
A practical tip when looking for nutritious wholegrain breakfast cereals is to check if the product meets the 10:1 ratio of total carbohydrates to fibre, says Laura Bosman at the European Food Information Council.
“For every 10 grams of carbohydrates, you should see at least one gram of fibre. So, if a breakfast cereal has 45 grams of carbs per 100 grams, it should have at least 4.5 grams of fibre per 100 grams.”
Where we are more likely to make an unhealthy choice is in our portion size.
A recent study conducted by Lloyds Pharmacy Online Doctor discovered that in nine in 10 cases, people were giving themselves more than the recommended average serving of cereal by 19%. Two Weetabix is considered a serving for an adult.
“We’ve all been a bit misled about portion size,” says Whittaker. “If you actually weighed it out, it’s much smaller than you would imagine.”
When it was announced that porridge oats were on the British Government’s list of banned junk foods that can’t be advertised on television before 9pm, many felt confused. Porridge has long been considered a healthy breakfast, so were we wrong all along?
The answer is that not all porridge is created equal. The rise of the instant pot or sachet has tainted old-school porridge by association.
The former is finely milled, so that the oats cook quicker, but this also means they release sugars faster. Many brands contain added sugar and flavourings too.
Meanwhile, rolled or steel-cut oats are high in fibre, particularly beta-glucan, a type of fibre shown to help lower blood glucose levels and improve feelings of fullness. “By slowing digestion, oats support long-lasting satiety, making it easier to manage hunger throughout the day,” says Mor.
For Mahmood-Ahmed, oats are a fantastic source of protein and fibre for people. “But obviously if you’re having oats with golden syrup mixed through them and they are highly processed, that’s a different kettle of fish.”
Try to limit your intake of instant porridge sachets or flavoured varieties. You can check the nutrition information label to identify porridges which have high sugar content.
“If they contain more than 22.5 grams of total sugars per 100 grams, they’re considered high in sugars,” says Bosman.
“It’s best to keep our intake of added sugars as low as possible since the more sugar we eat, the higher the risk of negative health effects. If you want to sweeten your porridge, you can add some fresh or frozen fruit, like banana or berries.”
Fruit is an excellent source of essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fibre. However, fruit does contain sugars, which can impact blood glucose levels, which means that individuals who need to monitor their blood sugar should be mindful of their fruit intake. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone should avoid eating fruit at breakfast.
Mor recommends pairing it with a protein source or a healthy fat source, such as Greek yoghurt with banana and walnuts. This combination helps slow the absorption of sugars and minimises their impact on blood glucose levels.
Additionally, some fruits, like berries, are generally low in carbohydrates and offer specific health benefits due to their high flavonoid content.
“While certain clinical conditions such as diabetes can give you sugar spikes, for the vast majority of us fruit is fine,” says Whittaker.
There is no more totemic symbol of British breakfast culture than the Full English. Its other name, the fry up, is key to why it has fallen out of flavour. Frying food being a sure way to add calories to an ingredient.
However, a Full English now and then, is perfectly fine, says Whittaker.
“The only way you can make it more healthy and nutritious is by making it at home and grilling.”
She recommends going for scrambled or poached eggs over the fried. And either sausage or bacon, not both. Grill your mushrooms: “They’re terrible for absorbing fat”. The same goes for your bread, too.
The humble baked bean might be high in salt and sugar, “but they are a fantastic source of fibre and plant-based protein”, adds Whittaker.
A plateful of food that hits all the major food groups, is a good thing. Mor recommends about 20-30g of protein alongside healthy fats and complex carbs for a breakfast that promotes satiety and blood sugar balance. “Eggs, beans, chicken breast, any source of unprocessed protein is ideal.”
If you’re looking for inspiration, Mahmood-Ahmed suggests trying breakfasts from other cultures.
“Look at a Turkish breakfast and the range of fermented things they have. There will be a small amount of bread, enriched with lots of seeds like sesame,” she says.
“A Middle Eastern breakfast might be fermented labneh with tomatoes, cucumber, spices like zaatar, all wrapped in a flatbread. These are fantastic options. We need to look at what the rest of the world is doing.”
Choosing to eat breakfast (or not) is highly personal. Some people wake up hungry, others are nauseous at the thought of food in the morning. While ideally we’d all be attuned into our body and its needs and hunger levels, it’s not always that simple.
“Intuition is important, but we’ve got to remember that hunger and satiation signalling is really complicated. There are so many reasons why our personal relationship with hunger can be quite difficult,” says Mahmood-Ahmed.
For many of us, skipping breakfast can lead to poor decisions later in the day, when we are tired and stressed. Then, when hunger eventually does strike, we are more likely to reach for energy-dense foods.
Whittaker believes it is important to have breakfast, even if you’re not feeling hungry: “We know calcium levels are low in the general population and also iodine rates are low particularly in women between the age of 18 to 25. That can affect their health and conception rates,” says Whittaker.
“Breakfast provides a source of calcium, fibre, a range of B vitamins, and iodine, which is fantastic for brain health. And if you throw in other things such as protein sources such as eggs are going to keep you fuller for longer and stop you going for that snack mid-morning.”
Prince Harry plans to invite the royals to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.
