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What do protein and fat breakfasts mean in practice?
As the name suggests – these types of meals will contain greater amounts of protein and fat, which will result in a lower supply of carbohydrates. It is worth mentioning here, however, right away – there is no such thing as a protein-fat breakfast recommendation! This is not a type of meal proposed by specific scientific societies dealing with human nutrition, hence currently any extremely specific proportions that you find on the Internet are probably concepts formulated by one person or a small group of people and cannot be applied always, everywhere and to every person in the population. This means that these types of meals may consist of various products containing macronutrients in different proportions, which will definitely affect whether they will have a positive or negative effect on our health, so whether we as nutritionists recommend them or even advise against them.
What is the theory behind protein and fat rich breakfasts?
According to supporters of the type of breakfast described today, in the morning, our body shows a high concentration of cortisol, a hormone that, among others, enhances the breakdown of triglycerides in adipose tissue into free fatty acids. This is supposed to positively affect fat burning. In addition, cortisol along with another hormone – glucagon, ensures that the right amount of glucose circulates in our blood after sleep (i.e. the period without eating). Consuming carbohydrates in the morning will raise your blood glucose levels, which is related to the release of insulin in your body. Proponents of protein and fat breakfasts believe that this insulin burst will be large enough to significantly reduce glucose levels in the body in a short time, which in turn leads to fatigue, energy loss and lethargy soon after breakfast, in which the amount of carbohydrates was not lowered enough. This can happen, of course, and therefore there are people for whom protein and fat breakfasts will work perfectly well – they will feel good after them and will stay full for a few hours after a meal, when, for example, after porridge or millet after less than in an hour they would be hungry again.
However, it should not be forgotten that one of the most frequent answers to questions about human functioning, dietetics, medicine, etc. is It depends. The point here is that our body is so complicated that in most nutritional cases there are no solutions that would always fit, under all circumstances and be appropriate for everyone.
Who will gain the most from eating protein-fat breakfasts?
Of course, first of all, those who like them feel good after them and are saturated for a long time. In addition, this type of meals will work well for people who train in the afternoon and evening hours (in the morning training, providing the right amount of carbohydrates to the body is necessary) and those for whom eating breakfasts based on proteins and fats helps to maintain a proper caloric balance throughout the day. .
A separate group that will benefit from eating protein and fat breakfasts are people who have problems with the proper concentration of glucose and insulin in the blood, i.e. patients with insulin resistance. First of all, this applies to those with high fasting insulin levels. A low carbohydrate content will lead to less insulin secretion from the pancreas. Your blood insulin levels will therefore be lower than it would be if you had eaten a carbohydrate-rich breakfast. However, it should be remembered that protein and fat breakfasts will be discouraged from people with reactive hypoglycemia. Then they will do more harm than good.
How to compose protein and fat breakfasts to make them healthy?
One of the big problems with this type of meal is that you don’t understand the concept of a protein-fat dish. Unfortunately, many people who follow such recommendations on a daily basis compose their breakfasts, e.g. from eggs with bacon or lard, low-quality sausages, and even fried pork neck, etc. too much on your menu. However, this is not the case at all!
If you are supporters of protein and fat breakfasts, you feel good after them and see the positive effects of eating them, you can use them the most and you can do it healthily. Below are some examples of well-balanced meals based on protein and fat.
• egg and / or avocado or salmon salad,
• chia pudding on coconut milk with strawberries and peanut butter,
• cottage cheese paste with vegetables,
• omelette with seasonal vegetables, such as paprika or zucchini, fried in rapeseed oil, served with a salad of raw vegetables,
• omelette fried in rapeseed oil, served with a portion of seasonal fruit and a few tablespoons of natural yoghurt or skyr.
As you have probably noticed, in my breakfast suggestions there is no shortage of vegetables or the addition of fruit in sweet variants. This is because even if we try to limit carbohydrates for breakfast, we should not forget about a solid dose of antioxidants and fiber, i.e. elements that definitely have a positive effect on our body. I do not think that bread is an essential element of breakfast every day and I think that you can easily reduce its consumption a bit. However, I am definitely a supporter of basing our meals on healthy, unprocessed vegetables and adding portions of fruit if it is appropriate and well-integrated.
Summation
As has already been mentioned several times – those for whom protein and fat breakfasts serve can introduce them to their menu. However, if you prefer buckwheat, millet pudding or an oatmeal smoothie, it doesn’t bother. Such breakfasts are also healthy. In fact (as always) the most important thing is moderation and the correct balance of the entire menu. So if carbohydrates are not reduced too much, and the caloric content is not increased with too much fat, breakfasts based on proteins and fats can be a healthy proposition for the first meal.
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