The Best Time to Eat Breakfast? It’s Not Right When You Wake Up

The Best Time to Eat Breakfast? You’ve already got some energy in the system.”

The problem with traditional, carb-heavy breakfast foods, like cereal, toast and pastries, is that they give you “a lovely glucose spike that fuels your cells, and then you have a corresponding crash,” says Aujla. “You’re hungry [again] by mid-morning, and need coffee and other stimulants to keep yourself focused and up and running until lunchtime.” Instead, he recommends a meal high in protein and fiber—partly because we often generally skimp on protein, which we need for “longevity,” and partly because protein and fiber keep us energetic and satiated through the morning.

Aujla has a few go-to breakfasts along these lines. During the week, he relies on overnight oats that go easy on the actual oats. “I have two tablespoons of oats, two tablespoons of milled flax seed, one tablespoon of chia and one tablespoon of hemp seeds,” he says. “Then I’ll add grated apple, some pumpkin seeds, a bit of protein powder, and then water or coconut milk or whatever. Read more about it here.

The Truth About Protein: How to Get Enough – At Every Age

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Eating protein is non-negotiable. In fact our requirements can be highly individual and hence easily misjudged, especially when, says the dietitian Linia Patel, “There are conflicting messages around how much protein we should be eating.” On the one hand, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that we exceed our daily protein recommendations, which scientists say could shorten our lives. On the other hand, says Patel: “What I see in my own clinical practice is that around 80% of my clients are not eating quite enough.” The booming protein industry, with its bars, pouches and shakes, would have us believe the more is always the merrier. Read more about it here.