Incomplete and fast, this is the breakfast of a large part of the families
Starting the day with energy is something that everyone likes. Many hours of work are ahead and not a few forces are needed to fulfill all the obligations, from going to work in the case of the elderly, to homework, school hours and school activities for the little ones. It is for this reason that a good breakfast It is essential in every home.
But do families meet the recommendations of nutritionists? In most cases this is not the case, this is what appears in the report Situation status on breakfast in Spain, prepared by the Ministry of Health where the situation of the most important meal of the day is reviewed and that is little taken into account in what situations.
Chocolate and pastries, the stars
If breakfast is important in the case of the elderly, in the case of children, in the process of development is more than evident. However, the data provided by this report confirm that few children comply with the recommendations to make this meal healthy. Just a 2,8% of the participants of these ages made a quality intake.
In the rest of the cases, foods that come out of the recommended trio are presented: dairy products, cereals and fruit. This report shows that chocolates are very present in the breakfast of the smallest, at least in the 75% of the cases. For its part, industrial bakery is part of this food in 55% of respondents.
If you attend to other food groups such as White bread, these are present in 35% of children's breakfasts, while cereals or bars composed of them appear in 30%. In the case of beverages, whole milk wins the semi-skimmed game, the first one is present in 42% of the cases while the second one is 39%.
In addition, the duration of breakfast in young people is also less than recommended as shown in this report. On average it is used 11.2 minutes to comply with this meal, 10.8 in working days and 12.1 in weekends. The recommendation by the specialists is that this first intake lasts for no less than a quarter of an hour.
The good breakfast
In this report, the Ministry of Health also gives a series of recommendations about how breakfast should be. These are the ones that must be essential:
- Dairy products. Dairy products provide a high content of nutrients in relation to their caloric value. They provide proteins of high biological value, fat, carbohydrates, liposoluble vitamins (in whole milk), phosphorus and calcium.
In case of taking skimmed or semi-skimmed dairy products, it is convenient that they are enriched in liposoluble vitamins.
- Fruits. From natural smoothies, to juices or whole pieces. Its consumption is essential to achieve a varied, balanced and nutritious diet. There is a wide variety, although in general it can be said that fruits provide mainly carbohydrates, fiber and water-soluble vitamins.
- Cereals This food group mainly provides complex carbohydrates, some protein and little fat. They are also a source of B vitamins and minerals. Whole grain cereals also have insoluble fiber, helping to reach the 25g of fiber that should be consumed daily.
Damián Montero
