No other meal has ever been under as much pressure to deliver as breakfast. Some of the following may sound familiar: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day … it stops you over-eating later. You may have heard this too: Skipping it reduces your resting metabolic rate and leads to weight gain. In the past few years many studies have shattered these myths. In fact, among the most compelling was a review published in The BMJ (British Medical Journal) suggesting all meals are, in fact, equal. Confirming what commonsense may have already told you: a croissant first thing is the same as one at 3pm. “There’s no running away from the importance of nutritious foods,” says Dr Jane Bowen. And while “one-size-fits-all” diet guidelines are a thing of the past, breakfast lovers need not dismay. “If eating breakfast suits you, keep doing that – we just don’t want people to eat when they’re not hungry because they think they should,” says Dr Bowen, noting that breakfast is one of the easiest meals to address when you want to create healthier habits, “because most people are more motivated in the morning”. To follow, Dr Bowen answers more pertinent breakfast questions.
Dr Jane Bowen
Q: How did breakfast become the most important meal?
A: People have always eaten food at the beginning of the day, but breakfast gained in status as the meal to never miss in the 1900s when there was a lot of social and industrial change. It was a time when people migrated from rural life into urban settings, and we also saw women entering the paid workforce and industrialised changes to food production. All of which led to intense marketing around new types of foods, like processed cereals.
Q: Does breakfast jump-start our metabolism?
This story is from the May 2021 edition of Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2021 edition of Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Spotlight on Vitamin D
Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, but safe sun exposure is still essential.
Coming up roses
Driven by a renewed interest in the flower’s power, a rose renaissance is dawning.
'I was given a 5% chance of survival'
When Caroline Laner Breure was hit by a car in an horrific accident on a Spanish holiday with her boyfriend, her body and her dreams were shattered. Somehow she found the will to go on living.
Time to celebrate our mothers
Author Kathy Lette gives a heartfelt thank you to her magnificent mum, Val - a baker of fairy cakes with the patience of a saint.
"I am lucky to be here" ”
Since the day she walked onto the MasterChef Australia set back in 2009, Julie Goodwin has openly shared her life. But in writing a memoir, she had to examine the demons she'd battled privately... until now.
JAMIE OLIVER at your service
Returning to the set of MasterChef Australia to help steer a path through grief and spread happiness, the celebrity chef is also at a turning point - he opens up about failure, love, second chances and his endless reservoir of joie de vivre.
From one mum to another
Princess Catherine's public announcement struck a chord with mum-of-two Jane Gillard. She shares her story of parenting through cancer- and offers hope for the princess and mums navigating their own health journey while raising primary-aged kids.
The courage of Princess Catherine "You are„, not alone"
It was a rare personal address that she shouldn’t have had to make. But with conspiracy theories swirling and the slimmed-down “Firm” under fire, Princess Catherine silenced critics with searing courage and dignity.
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
When Tracy Hall fell for Max Tavita, she fell for a mirage. Max was a false identity created by a con man, and Tracy was the latest in a long line of women whose life savings hed stolen.
Amother's GIFT
In December last year, Australia’s first uterus transplant recipient, Kirsty Bryant, gave birth to Henry, a happy, healthy baby boy. The uterus that had made this little miracle possible had been donated by her mother, Michelle. Five months later, their first Mother’s Day since Henry’s birth feels especially precious.