Breakfast - The sweetest meal of the day
For Sugar Awareness Week 2022, @actiononsaltandsugar asked the food industry to stop selling us dessert for breakfast.
According to Public Health England’s 2015 report, reducing average energy intake from free sugars to the recommended 5% would prevent 3,500 deaths a year and save the NHS £396 million annually.
We don’t need to avoid sugar completely to stay healthy but, in the UK overall, the average intake of free sugars is approximately double the WHO recommendation, so most of us could benefit from a reduction.
Free sugars are those added to food to improve taste or for preservation. This includes fruits which have been blended up or juiced as this process ‘frees’ the sugars. Whole fruits, however, are not included in this - their natural sugars are wrapped up in fibre which slows the speed at which the sugar enters your bloodstream. Fruit in its natural form is an important part of a healthy diet, providing fibre, nutrients, and plant compounds such as antioxidants.
Attempting to reduce the sugar in our breakfast (the sweetest meal of the day) is an excellent place to start. I’m a big fan of porridge with seeds and berries as an alternative to sugary cereal, but why not go one step further and try a savoury breakfast this weekend?
Starting the day with a savoury breakfast can be very beneficial for a few reasons:
It can reduce your overall daily sugar intake, particularly if you’re currently eating sugary cereal for breakfast!
It’s an opportunity to incorporate vegetables early in the day, providing vital nutrients and supporting your gut microbiome.
It won’t cause a spike in blood sugar - a savoury breakfast containing good amounts of protein, healthy fats and fibre will keep your glucose levels steady (and help to avoid a crash and cravings a couple of hours later).