Category Archives: Health

Since a lot of us are getting back to work after a holiday weekend. I thought it might a good time to talk about some of the morning foods  that can get your day off to a sluggish start.   Obviously I am a huge fan of breakfast, but it is the meal when people are most likely to go for the sugar.  Even people who tell me they aren’t “dessert people” will opt for sweet tasting foods first thing in the morning.  This can make it hard to stay awake.

A lot of the time, breakfast meeting fare can be a notorious contributor to the problem.  It often consists of doughnuts, pastries and overly sweet beverages.  I am sure we have all had the experience of trying to make ourselves stay awake, 30 minutes after leaving the breakfast buffet, even though we got plenty of sleep the night before.  So what foods should you avoid if you want to stay alert in the morning?

Sugar – Overly sweetened cereal, pancakes with lots of syrup, doughnuts and pastries all go on the avoid list.  This list really includes anything that turns to sugar in your body fairly quickly.  Read up on high glycemic index foods for more information.

Large Quantities – If you want to stay awake, eat in moderation.  When your body has to digest a large amount of food,  the extra work involved can make you feel tired.

Fat – Fatty foods can also make you want to sleep.  Similar to having to deal with a large quantity of food, your body also has to do more work to break down fat.  There are some foods that we all know and love in the morning that you can literally see the fat on them.  Avoid those foods if you want to keep your energy level up.

Most of these guidelines are pretty basic, and you have probably heard them before.  I believe a good reminder never hurts.  With this being Better Breakfast Month, it’s a good time for both kids and adults to remember which foods to avoid before starting the day.