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Show Breakfast Good, Nutritious Meal by Dr. Dale Nelson The Status of Breakfast The motivation for today's fitness treatise was a letter to the editor from a high school student pleading for her school to reinstate the continental continen-tal breakfast once started and later eliminated. The school's original continental breakfast options included milk, juice, sweet rolls, apples ap-ples and donuts, which seemed better for the student than going to the bookstore for a candy can-dy breakfast. It is obvious that many people, including young people in their growth years, either do not eat breakfast or make lousy, early morning morn-ing choices in their nutritional life-style. It is additionally sad to observe young people peo-ple coming from families where the no breakfast or poor breakfast practice is spawned. Even though to eat or not to eat breakfast is not the critical issue, it is significant that your body ordinarily has not had nourishment for 8 to 12 hours by the time your day begins, and your physiological well being is dependent upon your relatively recent re-cent intake of food. Poor Breakfast Choices The above mentioned continental breakfast options leave much to be desired, although the milk, juice and apples are highly desirable food choices. I will venture a guess, however, that the sweet rolls and donuts are the most popular selections. selec-tions. They should never occupy a position of importance on breakfast menus. Yet, these are the foods many people call breakfast, knowing full well they are making poor choices. On the other hand, those who think they had a good breakfast often go the eggs, meat (bacon, sausage, pork, steak, etc.) hotcakes, potatoes (usually fried) and coffee route. How many people can afford the calories in these foods? Obesity is not synonomous with fitness. Note the Calories For openers let's look at the kcals (calories) in these so called "good" breakfast foods. As you read the foods, keep in mind that when the kcals are higher than the number of grams, you have relatively hish caloried foods Egg (fried) 46 gms -99 kcals; bacon 15 gms -92 kcals; sausage 26 gms - 125 kcals; hot-cakes hot-cakes 81 gms - 182 kcals (does not include syrup); french fried potatoes 64 gms - 175 kcals; margarine on your toast 7 gms - 50 kcals (does not include bread). I All meats are high in ' kcals. By comparison note a few breakfast fruits: banana 119 gms - 101 kcals; orange 131 gms -64 kcals; grapefruite 118-48 kcals; peach 99 gms - 38 kcals. All fruits are low in calories unless sugar is added. Best Breakfast Choices The rationale on which I choose my breakfast is sound. Start with one half glass of orange juice. Since whole grain products pro-ducts are important in the diet, I have a bowl of dietetic granola (no sugar aded), then add a little 40 bran flakes, a few raisins, one half banana and most of the time, in season, peaches, strawberries or raspberries, or in the winter, bottled apple sauce or peaches with relatively little sugar used in the preserving process. Milk (low fat) is added. add-ed. Some of these foods, such as raisins, are not important if you have calorie problems. Fruits are low in kcals and high in nutrients. Finally, if you do not eat breakfast, you will not have the necessary wide variety in food selection which insures good nutrition. Now, keep your activity program pro-gram in high gear and you've got it made. |