Farmhouse Breakfast Week

25 Jan 2012 09:48 AM

22^nd– 28^thJanuary sees the celebration for Farmhouse Breakfast week.

The aim of this campaign is to raise awareness of the benefits of eating a healthy balanced breakfast and to demonstrate the variety of breakfast foods available in the UK.

Thousands of people skip breakfast every day, yet studies from across the globe show that eating a healthy balanced breakfast can benefit their:

Mood

Concentration

Energy levels

Meaning that they are more likely to perform better at school, work, etc.  

Why eat breakfast?                                                                                                                  

There are a number of reasons why breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

• Eating breakfast can aid concentration and mental performance at work.
• For the dieters out there research suggests that ‘Breakfast eaters tend to be slimmer than breakfast skippers’.
• It provides you with the nutrients and energy needed for an active lifestyle
• Research shows that breakfast eaters are less depressed and have lower levels of stress than breakfast skippers.
• Breakfast is the first meal of the day, eaten within two hours of waking and providing calories in the range of 20-35% of daily energy needs.
• Having a piece of fruit starts you on your way to 5-a-day.

Below are a further five reasons to never skip breakfast:

1. You probably get more nutrientsthan with lunch or dinner – Breakfast foods tend to provide a great deal of essential nutrients like fibre, vitamins and minerals. It also provides a different variety from the nutrients that tend to be found in lunch or dinner foods.
2. You feel fuller for longer- Eating a filling breakfast can leave you feeling fuller for longer.
3. You get an energy boost– Eating in the morning has proven to boost metabolism and provide energy for daily activities. It also helps you manage your weight.
4. More productive– Certain breakfast foods give you more energy and therefore make you more productive.
5. You burn more calories throughout the day– By spreading you total calories for the day amongst three different meals it may help to maintain your waist line.

Healthy breakfast ideas

• Having milk or yoghurt for breakfast will provide protein and calcium
• Eating bread and cereals for breakfast will provide you with carbohydrates for energy, as well as vitamins, minerals and fibre.
• Add variety and protein to your breakfast by eating beans, eggs and low fat bacon.

For a variety of different breakfast ideas and more information on Farmhouse Breakfast week follow this link.

Breakfast and sports performance

A study in 1999 by medicine and science in Sports and exercise, in which a group of people performed stationary bike exercises with breakfast one morning and without breakfast on another. They found that the group didn’t eat stopped their workouts as much as 30 minutes sooner because they were fatigued.

Throughout the week itself, hundreds of events will be taking place across the country to celebrate the most important meal of the day. Farmhouse Breakfast week is the perfect opportunity to start making the most out of your mornings in order to provide your body with the nutrients it needs for the day ahead.