In France, tradition has it that breakfast is sweet. Still, leftovers from yesterday’s meal have health benefits if you eat them in the morning. Tempted?
Faced with generally overly sweet cereals, American dietitian Chelsey Amer had previously said that pizza could be a healthier breakfast item. However, pizza is still a fairly fatty and not very nutritious meal. On the other hand, eaten for breakfast, the leftovers of your balanced meals from the day before would have benefits on your health.
Only 15% of French people have a habit of eating salty for breakfast, according to a Ifop study, and 45% of them run on pastries and other small cakes. Foods that contain a high level of sugar and are not enough to satiate the stomachs. Worse: since sugar calls for sugar, cravings for snacking before lunch are frequent. So, of course, starting the day with a piece of chicken and a portion of green beans is less appealing than a well-buttered croissant. But this choice would be much better for your health.
The benefits of eating salty for breakfast
If there is a benefit in this eating practice, it is the absence of hollow in the stomach after breakfast. Unlike sweet, salty will greatly reduce cravings, as proven by this study by Harvard published in 2018. It is thanks to the control of two hormones, called ghrelin and leptin, that the feeling of hunger decreases in people who eat fewer carbohydrates. These two hormones are very present in carbohydrates and make us snack more easily by stoking hunger. In fact, they force us to eat more to feel full.
According to this same study, the metabolism increases when we eat less sugar. People who reduced their carbohydrate diet lost 209 more calories per day than those with a high sugar diet. Thus, eating salty amounts to increasing energy expenditure and promoting weight loss, or at least, stabilizing body mass.
Obviously, you should not eat fatty foods from the day before, otherwise you will not benefit. Favor proteins contained in chicken or salmon for example, add a vegetable, bread (no added sugar) and a dairy product without sugar as well (exit flavored yogurt). Example: enjoy the cold chicken from the day before with pan-roasted tomatoes, toast and cream cheese.
Habits to evolve
57% of French people do not stand out from the traditional coffee and toast. It is a mentality that must be partly deconstructed. Often accompanied by butter and jam, sandwiches are not necessarily the solution for a balanced breakfast. On the different continents, you will mostly find people eating a salty meal. And it is in South Korea that we eat the salty leftovers from the day before. The breakfasts are generally made up of fish, rice and vegetables.
However, not all foods are made to be eaten the next day. Rice or potatoes for example, after having undergone a first cooking, rest in the open air time to cool. A fatal mistake since starch attracts bacteria. You risk digestive disorders or even food poisoning. So choose your food carefully, for a savory, tasty and risk-free breakfast.
Lea Lecuyer
With Léa, curiosity is no longer a bad thing. Lifestyle journalist, she always has good advice to boost your well-being and keeps you informed of all the characteristics of your sign …