Breakfast is important - but only if you make wise choices Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? It just might be, if it helps prevent stroke, heart attack, and type 2 diabetes. But there's a catch… A recent issue of the Harvard Heart Letter (HHL) notes that eating breakfast on a regular basis is linked with lower triglycerides, lower LDL cholesterol, and better control of blood sugar and insulin spikes during the day. But a United Press International report on the HHL article points out that it's not just the eating of a daily breakfast that provides benefits, "…what is eaten is also important." We'll file that detail in the "No Kidding!" file, along with a note that a chocolate donut with sprinkles and a diet Coke probably won't reduce stroke risk, heart attack risk, etc. The HHL offers a few breakfast suggestions starting with this: "A bowl of steel-cut oatmeal topped with fruit and walnuts." I'm impressed. That's actually an excellent recommendation. And if only they'd stopped right there…but no. Other HHL breakfast suggestions include whole-grain cereals (without a note that many "whole-grain" products actually contain very little whole grain), peanut butter (most brands are loaded with sugar), and an "egg substitute" omelet - significantly less nutritious than an omelet made out of actual eggs. Want some real-world breakfast guidance? Check the e-Alert "Breakfast: The Most Important Lie of the Day" (3/3/08). And to find out why steel-cut oatmeal is so much healthier for you than the vast majority of oatmeal products, check the e-Alert "Feeling Your Oats" (1/11/07). You'll never look at that guy on the Quaker box in the same way again. Source:
"Breakfast May Stave Off Heart Disease" United Press International, 4/23/08, upi.com | 
