So, which is the ideal breakfast? What should you be eating and drinking in the morning, before you start your daily activities?

We analysed three typical breakfasts by region: Italian breakfast, American breakfast and English breakfast, to find out more about the characteristics of a breakfast that will keep you going during the day ahead.

 

What happens in the human body during breakfast?

First of all you need to keep in mind two aspects that are generally unknown to most people. During breakfast, you should consume both liquids and solids. The first increases gastric activity; the latter has the task of emptying the gallbladder from bile. This latter function has two purposes: allowing better digestion in the course of the day and avoiding excessive accumulation of bile in the gallbladder. A situation that could lead to stone formation. In fact, bile is composed of bicarbonates, which have the valuable task to buffer the acid content of the processed foods in the stomac. Thus making sure that the food reaches the intestines in optimum chemical conditions for It is absorption by your body.

What is a typical Italian breakfast?

Italian breakfast includes milk, coffee, biscuits, jam, yogurt and orange juice. There are substitutions that don’t affect the meals composition overall. For example, some may want tea instead of coffee, toasted bread instead of fresh, honey instead of jam, fresh fruit instead of yogurt etc.

 

What is a typical American breakfast?

The American breakfast is very different. It includes American coffee which is served in larger quantities. Orange juice is usually not freshly squeezed and comes processed either from concentrate or with some preservatives. The solid part of the meal consists of bread, cakes and pies. Many Americans, however, prefer savory flavors such as ham, cheese and eggs to accompany their bread. A type of breakfast rich in fat, which triggers the production of insulin.

 

And what is a typical English breakfast?

Unlike the American breakfast, English and German breakfasts almost always include “egg and bacon” : ie, eggs and bacon, objectively richer in protein as well as fatty substances. Moreover, British and Germans prefer the fried eggs in a pan with a salted brioche, cooked along with sausages. The result is a caloric shock, during a very delicate time of the day, after which the digestive tract has been working through the night to dispose of “waste”. Quite the opposite of an Italian breakfast which favors easily digestible food.

A typical Anglo-Saxon breakfast which can be rich in fat causes the gallbladder bile to be recharged within an hour.

 

What are the consequences of a fatty breakfast on the organism?

In the short and long term, these foods are costly to our health. In terms of higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, increasing the risk of stroke, atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction.

 

Among these, what is the healthiest?

Between Anglo-Saxon and American breakfast, the least harmful and full of fat is the latter. In a championship of healthiest breakfast, it is easy to say what is the one that wins hands down: the Italian morning meal wins the championship with 70 points; It follows the American breakfast with 50; then Britain and Germany with 12 points. The Italian breakfast has fewer calories, on average between 300 and 400, and allows you to use a good amount of energy derived from complex and simple carbohydrates, which does not exacerbate the production of insulin. Recall that the latter is produced in peaks – in response to fat and sugar employed in abundance – giving origin to other fats. The American and British breakfasts ranging from 700 to 1000 calories.

 

Which of the three examined breakfasts does produce more insulin?

English breakfast, then the American one. But beware, in Italy is catching a particular phenomenon: without wanting to take anything to the savory breakfast in the morning, which is not that sweet, typical of our local, is gaining the combination of cappuccino and brioches. Croissant, in fact, requires careful because composed of saturated fatty acids, vegetable coconut and palm oils or lard, that sticks in the arteries.

So no to beloved cappuccino and brioche?

It is good to try not to overdo the brioche. One in the morning is more than enough, abuse is harmful. Yeah, because, while not reaching the excesses of American breakfast, English or German, we are following the same path that we will gradually change our tastes: in the morning, abandon the sweet for fat and salt. I think it is scientifically wrong: much better biscuits or biscuits accompanied with honey or jam. No a brioche, croissants or pastries prepared at the factory where the bread is high in fat and you can only eat the crust. If you really prefer savory, a good idea is to opt for the toast with prosciutto or bresaola or low-fat cheese.

 

It is true that breakfast is better to consume solid food before those liquids?

Very true. A good habit is to eat and drink before then, however, before taking the coffee, which in turn stimulates the digestive juices in the stomach. Ideally, eat fruit or yogurt or rusk before the usual cup.

 

30% of Italians have breakfast alone with a cup of coffee … right or wrong?

It is not the best solution: in a normal person who does not suffer from gastritis can fit. In a person suffering from gastritis the relationship between coffee and gastric juice can become confrontational, sparking gastritiche crisis.

 

As part of the Italian style, as to differentiate those who have different energy needs during the day?

Types of different people have very different needs from each other. The student will do an absolutely Italian breakfast: toast, honey, jam, fruit or yogurt, juices, cereals in the form of “cornflakes” and coffee. As an alternative to fruit, they are fine centrifugally, rich in fiber, substances that help to dispose of the waste of the previous dinner. For the elderly a similar breakfast, but with the addition of bread and low-fat cottage cheese or a slice of ham or cooked, still thin. For the worker, finally, that needs a higher energy requirement, the question changes. I suggest you start your day with a cappuccino, a croissant and 500 grams of fruit by adding a sandwich with honey or jam.

 

It is true that foods eaten before 11 o’clock in the morning, are definitely metabolized by nightfall?

No, not true. Or rather, it is a fact is only applicable in the theory of completely healthy people who follow a nearly perfect diet. But make no mistake: in practice it is never so. The repeated stress during the day mean, however, that the liver produces more insulin, which in turn charging the fat body, with the risk that the morning breakfast remains in the stomach even 36-48 hours. In theory it can happen to dispose of everything by 11, but from a practical point of view this does not happen.