We’ve heard most of our lives that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There have been numerous studies that show that regularly eating breakfast helps school children with their memory and ability to focus. As adults we also know that it’s easier to concentrate in the 9:00am meeting when our appetites are satisfied and our stomachs aren’t growling.
So, logically this benefit would be even better if the quality of our breakfast was not only keeping the hunger at bay, but also giving us the best nutrition.
So why Fruit?
The most obvious answer is it’s delicious and from nature and the good mother earth herself created this delicious food group just for us. It’s a bonus that most fruit is also already packaged for on-the-go snacking and thus travels easily, but there are even more reasons to grab an apple (or whatever fruit you like) in the morning instead of that egg and cheese biscuit.
1. Fruit Detoxifies – Of all the foods fruit has the highest concentration of anti-oxidants and astringent/cleaning properties. Most fruits are alkalizing in the body (a ph above 7). This means that the metabolic process of utilizing fruit in the body leaves an alkaline “ash” in the body, unlike our typical breakfast of breads, meat and diary which are all highly acidic. This alkalizing effect supports the neutralization of acids and is therefore anti-inflammatory, aiding in the body’s natural detoxification processes.
Fruit is also high in fiber which means that not only will it move through the digestive track easier, but will also assist in moving cholesterol and other digestive and metabolic waste out.
2. Easy to Digest – Fructose is absorbed directly into the blood stream for easily accessible energy. It also burns slowly in the body and thus, produces sustained glycogen over a longer period of time. No crash and burn. A plus for those suffering from diabetes is that fructose doesn’t require insulin in order to be utilized as energy in the body, so there is no insulin spike. There is actually a recent study showing that fruit consumption even helps lower the risk of diabetes.
Then there’s the fact that fresh raw fruit also contain their own enzymes to help with digestion and the absorption of nutrients. This is one of the main principles behind the living and raw foods movement. This high enzyme content doesn’t require our bodies to use it’s own enzymes to assist in nutrient utilization and preserves our own digestive energy. Since enzymes are energetic proteins high cooking temperatures lowers that energy to zero, essentially killing them. So as you can imagine, most of our traditional breakfast favorites – like pop tarts, muffins, and bagels with cream cheese don’t contain any of their own enzymes.
3. Immune Boost – the immune power of antioxidants help buffer free radicals or substances that cause oxidation. Oxidants (or free radicals) speed the decay of living tissue. Think about how an apple turns brown once it is sliced – that’s the affect of oxygen on the apple’s cellular structure. Both oxidants and antioxidants occur naturally in the body and are necessary, but with the de-natured food we mostly eat, along with emotional and environmental stresses – free radicals can go unchecked. Fruits and vegetables contain the most antioxidants of any food group. Thus, they are nature’s way of counteracting oxidants and making sure we keep our immune system functioning at its highest potential. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, carotenoids, flavonoids, lutein, and lycopene are only some of the antioxidants in fruits and veggies.
4. Hydrates – The 7 Day Detox outlines eating water fruit in the morning. Why? According to one study in 2009 by the University of Aberdeen, the water content in some fruit is twice as effective at hydrating the body than regular water, especially after an intense workout. Fruit contains salts that hydrate the cells such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. These minerals have to be added to drinks like Gatorade and Powerade in order for these products to help hydrate us, but are found naturally in fruits.
And of course, there’s the natural fruit sugar and high alkalinity (unlike sports drinks with added sugar and a very acidic ph of about 3). Fruits such as watermelon, cucumber, and papaya have some of the highest water content.
5. Lightweight Fuel – Most Americans are accustomed to a “hearty” breakfast. Typically containing bacon (with nitrates and preservatives) or sausage, eggs and cheese, and some form of carbohydrate – pancakes (with syrup), muffins, bagels, bread, and biscuits, etc. While these are definitely considered comfort foods, they don’t fuel our bodies in the same way that fruit does. In general – the denser the food, especially cooked grains and meats, the more energy is required by our bodies to extract the usable nutrients and convert the remainder into waste to be eliminated.
The opposite is true for fruit. Fresh fruit has naturally high energy levels. In the 30s and 40s Andre Simoneton researched electromagnetism and the energetic vibration of food. Measured in angstroms, he concluded that the human body needs to be at least 6,500 angstroms to be healthy. The electromagnetic energy of fruit is typically between 8,000 and 10,000. By comparison pasteurized milk has about 2,000 angstrom, refined white flour has about 2,000 – 1,500, and cooked meats range from 3,000 to none. What that means is that once the body works very hard trying to extract what nutrients are available from these low to no energy foods, we are in an energy deficit.
So there! Hopefully, these are 5 compelling reasons to start your most important meal of the day with the energetic, alkalizing fruit of your choice!
Check out 5 More Reasons to Eat Fruit for Breakfast