Smoothies as a substitute
Britons know they should eat more fruit and vegetables, but packing fruit into breakfast can cause a spike in blood sugar, with sugar being associated with a wide range of health problems including fatty liver disease, increased visceral fat, increased triglycerides and switching off of our leptin response (the hormone that signals our brain when we are full).
Eating a whole fruit will mean consuming fibre at the same time, which slows the digestion of the fructose down.
However, drinking fruit in fruit juice or smoothie form, means eliminating the fibre that needs to be broken down and therefore a high concentration of fructose floods the liver. Suddenly a fresh fruit morning smoothie contains more sugar than a glass of cola.
Fearing fat
For years on end fat was seen as the enemy, with hundreds of “fat-free” products flooding the shelves – however, fat-fuelled breakfasts can boost the metabolism and weight loss by keeping hunger at bay.
Unsaturated fats, specifically, help keep cholesterol in check and the heart healthy, too. Sarah recommends incorporating natural fats from vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fish into breakfast, just be sure to avoid all man-made fats and seed oils.