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Eating a healthy breakfast has so many more benefits than just weight loss. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, because it can help you feel energized and focused throughout the day – if you eat the right foods.
But on the other hand, if you eat the wrong type of breakfast, you not only deplete your energy levels early in the day but you may also be harming your health.
This means that eating breakfast isn't just about eating something fast when you're low on time. Sometimes the foods you can grab quickly are the worst for you, because they often contain a lot of sugar.
Sugar is the absolute worst type of food you can eat in the mornings, because it slows your metabolism and drains your energy.
And unfortunately, there are so many more sugary breakfast foods than you would expect. It's not just cereals that contain sugar.
Even granola bars with healthy ingredients like nuts and berries often have added sugars that give more sweetness to their flavors.
We all know that sugar can lead to weight gain, but it's also bad for your health in other ways. In the long term, eating excess sugar may lead to problems with blood sugar and even increase your risk of health conditions like heart disease.
There are also more short term affects of sugar - it drains your energy and can even cause signs of aging to appear on your skin.
You don't need to cut sugar out entirely to stay healthy - just eat it in moderation.
The American Heart Association recommends that women limit their daily sugar intake to six teaspoons, or 25 grams, and men limit their intake to 9 teaspoons, or 36 grams.
It's important to pay attention to what your breakfast foods are made with, because so many of them have added sugars that you would never expect.
