The worst breakfast foods to start your day

You know the old saying of, “breakfast of champions?” That depends on your food choices at this all-important meal of the day.  The word “breakfast,” literally means “breaking the fast” and what better way than to fuel your morning tank for energy-enhancing, disease-fighting foods keeping you healthy along with an added bonus of weight control.

When you make smart breakfast choices with the right amount of fiber, protein, and healthy fats, breakfast quickly becomes a powerhouse meal starting your day off right. The best breakfast food choices include eggs scrambled with spinach and tomatoes, hard-boiled or as an omelet, Greek yogurt, fruit, nuts, berries, oatmeal, whole grain cereals, and avocados.

But what about the “worst” breakfast foods you should avoid?  While they may be convenient or taste super sweet, there are certain foods typically associated with the first meal of the day dragging you down very fast. Here’s a look at which breakfast foods are best to avoid:

·      Doughnuts, pastries and croissants – As tempting as they look and taste, these foods are not the best choices to fuel your body. Lacking fiber and protein and packed with sugar, within about an hour after eating, you’ll be searching for food way before lunchtime. This sets you up for overeating and excess calorie intake. The excess sugar in these foods is a problem causing blood sugar spikes that lead to an even bigger sugar crash. This only leads to craving more refined carbs causing a vicious cycle of unhealthy eating starting with the first bite of a pastry.

·      Coffee and nothing else – Many of us wake up not hungry but need something to get us wide awake.  The natural solution is to drink coffee and nothing else, right? Coffee does have some health benefits but without any calories (unless you add sugar and creamer), by the time 10 a.m. rolls around, you’ll be starving. The best solution is to keep drinking your coffee but not solo.  Consider a more substantial breakfast consisting of eggs, a cup of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt with berries and nuts, or whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a banana.

·      Pancakes or waffles – Who doesn’t like a stack of pancakes or waffles for breakfast? Sounds good but this favorite breakfast food is also likely covered in maple syrup, jelly, and butter. Too many calories of highly refined, sugary foods. But does that mean a breakfast of pancakes and waffles should always be avoided? Fortunately not. Make healthy homemade pancakes or waffles with whole wheat flour and switch the sugary toppings to fiber and protein rich foods such as fresh or frozen fruit, nut butters, Greek yogurt or add in nuts and fruit to the batter.

·      Loaded bagel – Bagel stores are one of the most popular stores frequented early morning. Buying a large bagel loaded with cream cheese, is commonly the choice most customers choose.  However, these belly bombs average between 300 and 500 calories worth of starch (about 65 grams of carbohydrates). Then when you slather on cream cheese or butter, calories and fat content skyrocket even higher. A better choice is to choose the smallest bagel offered, made with whole grains and use a filling of protein-rich cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, with a spread of healthy monounsaturated fat from an avocado. 

·      Sausage biscuit – High in saturated fat and sodium, this is one of the worst breakfasts to choose. Anyone with high blood pressure or trying to lose weight would be wise to choose a better, healthier alternative. Opt instead for whole wheat toast, a side of fruit, and a small portion of turkey bacon instead.

·      Sugary breakfast cereals – The biggest red flag with breakfast cereals is sugar.  Some are so high in sugar you might as well pour a cup of sugar in a bowl, add milk, and eat that. Even if a cereal has “whole grains” on the label, check the sugar content on the nutrition facts label. Choose a cereal with at least 5 grams of fiber per serving, and less than 10 grams of sugar per serving.  Fiber is important for slowing down digestion helping keep you feeling full longer.

·      Low fat yogurt – Yogurt is a convenient and easy breakfast meal, you might want to check the nutrition facts label to see how much sugar its packing. It’s not uncommon for one serving of low-fat yogurt to contain as much as 30 grams of sugar, which is 60 percent of your daily USDA limit. The reason low fat yogurts have so much sugar is simple: they don’t have much fat. Yogurts lacking fat don’t taste as good so food companies add in ample sugar to make them taste better. A much better choice is to switch to full-fat Greek yogurt.  They have less sugar, more protein, and already taste great. You can add in a little bit of honey for a touch of sweetness or add in fresh or frozen berries.

Dr. David Samadi is the Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital in Long Island. He’s a renowned and highly successful board certified Urologic Oncologist Expert and Robotic Surgeon in New York City, regarded as one of the leading prostate surgeons in the U.S., with a vast expertise in prostate cancer treatment and Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy.  Visit Dr. Samadi’s websites at robotic oncology and prostate cancer 911.