CHENNAI: Breakfast is essentially food for the brain, so the food choices we make for the first meal of the day can have a significant bearing on our health, especially our hormonal health.A breakfast heavy in carbohydrates and sugar will increase the demand for insulin, which in turn disrupts hormonal balance. Dr Thangamani, HoD, Nutrition and Dietetics, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialties Centre, weighs in on the do’s and don’ts of how to make your breakfast healthier. The best breakfast, she argues, is one that achieves a balance of all essential nutrients.
Food habits and cortisol
Cortisol hormones have a secretion pattern that spikes during the night and comes down during the day. If one hormone is disrupted, it will affect the other hormones as well. An increase in cortisol is likely to cause an increase in blood sugar, leading to insulin resistance. Cortisol disruption is caused by a number of factors — stress, unhealthy food habits and irregular sleep patterns. “Most working people these days either skip breakfast or consume readymade processed food, which is very unhealthy,” Dr Thangamani says. “Some of our traditional breakfast recipes work very well because they are balanced in terms of the nutrition they provide.”
Additional breakfast tips
