Protein and Breakfast
The proteins are macronutrients with mixed function, that is plastic, energetic, bioregulating, hormonal etc. Their contribution in the diet is very important because a part of the "bricks" (amino acids) that constitute them is "essential"; means that the body is not able to produce them independently in sufficient quantities and that it must therefore derive them from the diet.
It is wrong to believe that the solution to increased protein requirements is to take as many proteins as possible; in fact, excessive portions of these nutrients (> 30g) are not well absorbed by the intestine, so they are partially eliminated with faeces. Practically, the secret to having a good protein absorption is to take more meals but in less abundant portions; in this case, certain single-portion foods to be placed at breakfast and in secondary meals become particularly comfortable. So, to give a clear example, YES to yogurt for breakfast and NO to the WHOLE Fiorentina steak for dinner.
Breakfast: Importance of Meal
Breakfast is one of 5-6 ordinary meals of the day. It is customary to call it "the most important", although most people cannot justify the real reason. From the "quantitative" point of view, breakfast brings (or rather should bring) about 15% of the total daily calories. On the contrary, the other two main meals (ie lunch and dinner), should provide about 40 and 35% of the energy; in parallel, secondary meals (2-3 snacks) are limited to contribute altogether for the remaining 10% (up to 25%) of calories. So, if mathematics is not an opinion, respecting the criterion of "caloric quantity", breakfast seems much more like a secondary meal than a main one. However, its importance lies in a metabolic and non-mathematical mechanism.
Breakfast aims to refresh the body after a fast that lasts from the end of the previous dinner. In principle, assuming that the last meal of the day is consumed between 7.30pm and 8.30pm, and that the next breakfast takes place between 7.30am and 8.30am, this time frame should correspond to about 11-13 hours. It goes without saying that, logically, it would be appropriate for breakfast to provide much more than 15% of daily calories (remember the saying: " eat a king's breakfast, a prince's lunch and a poor dinner "?); also because, by scanning circadian cycles, insulin secretion and its peripheral uptake are greater at this time of day than in the afternoon or night. Nevertheless, in the morning (perhaps due to nervous or time-related issues), the average person does not easily tolerate large portions of food and prefers to consume them for lunch or dinner. Furthermore, it should be remembered that fasting at night occurs in conditions of deliberately limited energy expenditure (in substance, it corresponds to basal metabolism); the nocturnal one, therefore, is certainly not comparable to a morning abstinence, afternoon or evening, periods in which the organism is more active and expensive. It must then be specified that, being the first meal, reducing its size or eliminating it completely, there is the risk of accumulating appetite (which turns into FAME) and exceeding the portions in subsequent meals; in practice, not assuming this energy at breakfast, this is then added to lunch or dinner, increasing the fat deposits due to excess calories.
These are the reasons that justify the importance of the morning meal and that, in parallel, limit its size to a modest 15% of the total.
Protein Crisp - Proteins in Puffed Rice Flakes
For a protein breakfast
With 52% of whey protein isolate on the dry weight, 40% of complex carbohydrates and with very little fat (1%) and sugars (1.2%), protein crisp is particularly suitable for the protein breakfast of sportsmen or those who follow weight-loss diets with a high protein content ( high-protein diet).
Its crunchy texture, reminiscent of puffed rice, makes it perfect for mixing with milk and yogurt, but also for preparing protein desserts and desserts. Click here for more detailed information
Breakfast Nutritional Composition and Protein Foods
Once we understand the importance of breakfast, let's try to better understand HOW it should be structured.
We have already mentioned insulin; this hormone is the body's main anabolic mediator but, by facilitating the entry of certain molecules into the tissues, it also becomes responsible for the adipose accumulation. A better ability to metabolize nutrients in the morning also corresponds to a lower tendency to deposit fat, which is why it is customary to concentrate sweeter foods at breakfast rather than at other meals of the day (sugars are the main nutrients responsible for secretion). insulin); furthermore, let us remember that the brain works on glucose (sugar), therefore carbohydrates should never be lacking in a morning meal (especially considering the long fast before breakfast).
However, the nutritional needs of people are NOT the same and, especially in certain situations (anticipated in the introduction), breakfast becomes a fundamental moment to reach the share of other nutritional compounds such as proteins, but also fibers, vitamins and salts minerals.
In summary, for some people (which we remember being especially boys, the elderly, sportsmen and those suffering from pathologies related to intestinal absorption but not only ...) making a reasonable consumption of milk and yogurt in the morning is a habit to say the least intelligent. I mention these foods because, in addition to being statistically the most welcome in the first meal, they are an excellent source of protein, of riboflavin (vit. B2), of calcium and (in yogurt) of probiotics; moreover, as far as yoghurt is concerned, being comfortably distributed in 125 and 150g portions, it can be easily consumed even outside the door.
Foods rich in proteins are different but, while for some it is not a problem to consume salami, eggs, canned tuna or white meat as soon as they wake up, I challenge anyone to regularly eat a plate of roasted shrimp or Venetian liver ... at 7 am : 30 in the morning!
Then, if we consider that the only nutritional drawback to the consumption of food of animal origin is the intake of cholesterol and saturated fats, milk and yogurt prove once again extremely useful. In fact, although it is impossible to completely degrease a slice of meat or to deprive cholesterol of an egg yolk, on an industrial level it is instead possible to skim (even very effectively) any type of milk; this, deprived of its lipidic component, becomes a food almost totally devoid of molecules that favor the increase of cholesterol in the blood.
It is also necessary to specify that these foods are not globally tolerated; there is a slice of the population that, by not preserving the intestinal lactase after weaning, becomes intolerant to this sugar. For these people it is practically impossible to consume normal milk, while (thanks to the hydrolysis carried out by the lactic bacteria that reduces the lactose content) they seem to tolerate better (with the due differences linked to subjectivity) all the fermented products such as yogurt, kefir, Greek or thickened yogurt, buttermilk etc.
In short, two yoghurts with whole grains, honey, fresh fruit and oilseeds represent a tasty breakfast that can cover the needs of proteins (totally absorbable), sugars, water, mineral salts, vitamins and dietary fiber for the most part of the general population.
