| I was recently amazed by a television commercial | | | | The pancakes are made with white flour (another |
| introducing a brand new breakfast menu selection | | | | form of sugar) and white sugar. The fruit topping |
| for a local restaurant chain. I won't name names, | | | | is mostly sugar. The cheesecake filling is fat and |
| but there in front of me, in living color, was a | | | | sugar, and the whipped topping is fat and sugar, |
| plate containing two large, fluffy pancakes with a | | | | and if it's the non-dairy variety, hydrogenated |
| white substance (described by the announcer as | | | | (trans-fat) fat with sugar. I won't even go into |
| "cheesecake") sandwiched between, smothered | | | | the chemical additives that abound in this kind of |
| with your choice of fruit pie-filling, and topped with | | | | meal. |
| a mountain of whipped cream. | | | | High sugar intake = Increased risk of heart |
| Is this breakfast food? | | | | disease |
| My eyes popped out like one of those old cartoon | | | | A recent study of 6,000 Americans showed that |
| characters, my teeth hurt, and I could feel my | | | | a high sugar intake is directly correlated with low |
| blood sugar soaring just looking at the picture! | | | | HDL cholesterol levels (the good cholesterol), as |
| "Come and join us for breakfast!" the voiceover | | | | well as high blood triglyceride levels. This means |
| cajoled. | | | | that consuming a high sugar diet increases your |
| Misnomer for breakfast | | | | risk factors for heart disease. |
| Breakfast! This new menu choice could be called a | | | | The buck stops here |
| lot of things: | | | | In case you're wondering, I don't blame the |
| "A Heart Attack Waiting to Happen!" | | | | restaurant for offering a menu selection so far |
| "Dessert for a Family of Four!" | | | | removed from what breakfast should be. It's our |
| "Hello, Type II Diabetes!" | | | | own fault for creating a demand for this type of |
| "Death to Your Diet!" | | | | health-destroying meal. If nobody ordered it, the |
| "Colon Calamity!" | | | | restaurant would not have it on the menu. After |
| But definitely not breakfast! | | | | all, they are in the business of pleasing their |
| Ending the fast | | | | customers. |
| As the name suggests, breakfast is the meal | | | | I'm also not suggesting, as some politicians are, |
| where you "break" your overnight "fast." Your | | | | that we ban unhealthy food or levy taxes against |
| body has used a lot of its resources repairing and | | | | it. We still live in a free country, which includes the |
| replenishing while you slept, and it is ready for a | | | | freedom to eat unhealthy food. |
| new infusion of nutrients such as protein, healthy | | | | What I am suggesting is that we educate |
| fats and carbs, vitamins, minerals and fiber. | | | | ourselves about what our body needs to be |
| Another way of saying this is that your body is in | | | | healthy, and which foods help us fight disease and |
| need of foods from the various food categories, | | | | feel well. These foods are generally whole and |
| Bread/Cereal, Dairy, Protein and Fruit/Vegetables. | | | | unprocessed, with a particular emphasis on fresh |
| It is also a time when your body needs some | | | | vegetables, fruit, lean proteins, monounsaturated |
| fiber to help stimulate your digestive tract to | | | | fats, and contain a minimum of added sugar. |
| eliminate the waste products that have | | | | If you break your fast with food that will benefit |
| accumulated overnight. | | | | your body rather than burden it, you will have the |
| Mainly one food group | | | | energy and vitality, not only to get through the |
| Now, a creative person might say that the | | | | day, but also to live long and well. |
| above-mentioned menu offering provides a | | | | Order real breakfast food, if they have it |
| selection from all four groups: Pancakes - Bread | | | | The next time you are eating out for breakfast, |
| Cereal group; Cheesecake filling - Protein or Dairy | | | | how about ordering some whole-grain pancakes |
| group; Fruit topping - Vegetable/Fruit group; | | | | with fresh fruit? Or maybe some eggs with whole |
| Whipped topping - Dairy group (unless it's the | | | | grain toast. Try it you'll like it! |
| non-dairy variety). | | | | As an added bonus, if you re-educate your palate |
| However, I am here to tell you that there is | | | | to enjoy the natural sweetness found in real food, |
| virtually one group represented in this meal, and | | | | you may find that those sugar-and-chemical-laden |
| that's the SUGAR group! It is safe to say that the | | | | menu choices, no longer interest you. It's also |
| excessive amount of sugar actually negates any | | | | possible that if we change our ordering habits, |
| nutritional value that might be found in this meal. | | | | restaurants will rethink what they put on their |
| There is also little or no fiber present to help | | | | menus for us to order. It's not an impossible |
| speed this dubious breakfast on its way through | | | | dream! |
| your digestive tract. | | | | |