Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day, but not every morning favorite is as healthy as it seems. Many of them taste incredible but are loaded with sugar, unhealthy fats, or empty calories that won’t keep you full for long. To help you find the proper breakfast for your diet, we have collected 14 popular dishes that can ruin your healthy diet. We don´t say not to eat these popular foods, but you might want to enjoy them in moderation.
Note: The content of this article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for advice tailored to your individual circumstances.
Toast
Most sliced bread is made from refined grains. These grains are high in carbs and low in fiber—not a good combination! Sliced bread elevates blood sugar levels and leaves you feeling hungry.
Packaged Breakfast Cereal
Lots of cereals claim to be made with whole grains or have lots of vitamins and minerals. The reality is that many cereals are highly processed and contain only trace amounts of the nutrients they claim to have. Breakfast cereals contain mostly refined grains and lots of sugars.
Grocery Store Muffins
Eating a morning muffin always seems like an easy, healthy breakfast. However, most grocery store muffins are made with refined white flour and extra sugar, and they offer very little in the way of protein or fiber. Some grocery store muffins can top 400 calories each! Those little muffins may look healthy, but they are pretty deceiving!
Fruit Juice
Packaged fruit juice usually contains a lot of sugar and sometimes high fructose corn syrup, an ingredient that is terrible for your health. Drinking too much sugar will increase your risk of obesity and diabetes and cause your blood sugar to spike. This doesn’t sound like a good way to start your day!
Toaster Pastries
Popping a packaged toaster pastry into the oven sounds like a very easy, tasty way to start your day. However, the ingredients inside that toaster pastry are terrible. They are typically made with sugar, corn syrup, soybean oil, and white flour. Not to mention a ton of artificial flavorings and dyes. Don’t believe those “real fruit” claims on the front of the box! They could be lies.
Biscuits and Gravy
Nothing tastes better than a big plate of freshly made biscuits covered in thick, warm gravy. While this breakfast may taste good, it is very unhealthy. Biscuits and gravy are very high in both fat and salt. All that butter, sausage, and white flour does taste good but it is definitely not the most nutritious.
Breakfast Bars
Breakfast bars are a go-to breakfast for many, especially people who want to eat in a hurry. Lots of packaged breakfast bars are highly processed and packed with added sugars. They do not make for a healthy morning meal.
Sweetened Yogurt
Yogurt is another nice, easy breakfast that you may think is healthy. While yogurt can be healthy, many fat-free yogurts are not. Fat-free yogurt often has more sugar than a candy bar. Extra sugar is added to the yogurt to make up for the lack of flavor caused by eliminating the fat.
Pancakes
Do you make your pancakes with white flour and slather them in syrup? Most people do! This is not a healthy breakfast. All that refined flour and extra sugar can put you right on the path to obesity.
Sugary Coffees
Everyone loves a cup of coffee in the morning. But adding creamer to your coffee or ordering a sugary drink from a coffee shop will cause your blood sugar to spike. Plus, lots of those specialty drinks are very high in calories. They are like a full meal all on their own!
Bagels
Bagels are a classic breakfast food, but one big bagel can be packed with calories and refined flour. Adding cream cheese to a bagel just makes it more unhealthy, adding extra fat and, yes, more calories! With almost no fiber and lots of carbs, a morning bagel may not be the best idea.
Donuts
Donuts may be a popular breakfast food, but they are packed with sugar, which will make you start your day off on the wrong foot. Have a donut as a special treat once in a while, but try not to eat donuts for breakfast every single day. Or, at least give our baked donuts a try, which are a little better for you than deep-fried donuts.
Coffee Cake
Coffee cake may seem like a morning pastry, but as the word "coffee" implies, it is a morning treat. However, coffee cake is still cake. It is sugary, sweet, and packed with calories. Eating a daily slice of cake for breakfast is probably not the best idea.
Cinnamon Rolls
A warm cinnamon roll covered in frosting is more like a dessert than a breakfast. However, many people like to eat these sweet treats as a morning meal. All that frosting and cinnamon sugar filling is not a nutritious morning meal. Your blood sugar will go right up if you eat a cinnamon roll first thing in the morning!
This article was first published at Spatula Desserts.
Leave a Reply