Jackie’s Wellness Coaching Wednesday Weigh In- September 1st, 2010

Does eating breakfast really make for better brains?

Just like our other organs, the brain is affected by what we eat. Unlike other organs, though, the brain does not store glucose, it’s energy source – so starting the day without feeding your brain, or with poor food as fuel, will likely result in poor performance. Here are three great reasons to eat a better breakfast:

1. Eating breakfast builds the ability to concentrate. Studies show that those who eat a well-balanced breakfast have higher grades, better class participation and attention, better memory on complex tasks, and better overall learning ability.

2. Eating breakfast helps maintain health. Statistics show that breakfast eaters miss fewer days of school due to illness. This is likely the result of stronger immune systems amongst breakfast eaters.

3. Breakfast eaters are generally leaner than non-breakfast eaters. This is true for adults as well as children, because starting the day with an adequate base of good foods tends to prevent overeating later in the day.

4. What’s eaten for breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. Food
researchers fed one group of children a junk-food breakfast and another group a brainy breakfast. Interestingly enough, these two groups chose either their school lunch offerings according to what they ate for breakfast.