4 Breakfast items you should avoid Updated: 2006-08-28 14:01 Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not only does
breakfast give you the fuel to break the fast you have undergone during a good
night's sleep. Breakfast also helps you concentrate better throughout the day
and helps maintain your weight. For most people, breakfast is the only meal to
include some vital nutrients such as calcium from milk as well as fiber and
antioxidants from whole grains. Therefore, it is wise to choose healthy
breakfast items to start your day and avoid breakfast items that have no
nutritional value.
4 Breakfast items to avoid: 1.Carrot Cake Muffin Perhaps the word
"carrot" make it sound like a healthy breakfast item, but most commercial carrot
cake muffins are high in fat and calories. One serving of this favorite
breakfast muffin from a coffee chain store contains a whopping 680 kilocalories
and 40 grams of fat! Indeed, most muffins and scones are high in fat. Scones, in
particular, usually contain trans fat as well.
2.Doughnuts Doughnuts are fried breakfast foods. If you do not eat french
fries for breakfast, why would you eat fried doughnuts? One piece of glazed
doughnut from a doughnut chain store contains 200 kcal of empty calories with
precious few nutrients. What is worse is that it contains four grams of trans
fat per serving. That is already two times more than the recommended amount of
trans fat a day. Doughnuts with fillings contain even higher amounts of calories
and trans fat, so stay away from this breakfast treat!
3.Frozen Waffles Similar to doughnuts, frozen waffles are another example
of empty calories when it comes to breakfast foods. Most store-bought frozen
waffles are basically refined grain combined with refined sugar and trans fat,
lacking health-promoting vitamins, minerals and fiber. Most people add syrup and
margarine on their breakfast waffles, hence adding even more calories and fat.
Not a smart choice to start your day!
4.McDonald's Deluxe Breakfast With such breakfast items as scrambled
eggs, hash browns, sausages, pancakes and dressing and syrup, this deluxe
breakfast contains a shocking 1,120 kcal and 61 grams of fat! With that much
fat, it is like swallowing 13 teaspoons of vegetable oil in one setting! What is
more shockingis that this breakfast item at McDonald's contains 11 g of trans
fat, that is is 5 times more than the daily recommended amount of trans fat!
The recommended daily intake for dairy is three servings a day and whole
grains is at least three servings daily. If you do not normally eat these foods
for lunch or dinner, it is easier to include these items in breakfast. Hence,
choose whole grains such as whole wheat bread, whole grain cereals or oatmeal if
possible. In addition, include a serving of dairy such as low-fat milk or
low-fat yogurt, which is rich in protein, calcium and potassium. In general, try
including at least three food groups in your breakfast so that you do not need
to prowl for a mid-morning snack.
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