It is no secret that breakfast deserves a place of honour as the most important meal of the day: but what is actually the right way to have a healthy breakfast, and how do different cultures manage it?
Breakfast, or better known as the most important meal of the day. It is the reflection, just like lunch and dinner, of a country’s own culinary traditions and culture. Everybody knows how important receiving just the right amount of sugar in the morning is, in order to get the metabolism started and the brain ready to work after many hours of sleep. But how does this habit change in different parts of the world, how do different cultures try to fulfil the natural needs of the body in the morning?
The Mediterranean model: the healthiest breakfast in the world
Let us start from the Mediterranean diet, which includes Italian as well as French, Spanish and Greek breakfast. Mediterranean breakfast, and Italian in particular, is considered from nutritionists the healthiest one. Breakfast in Italy, as well as other Mediterranean countries, is sweet and consists of biscuits or rusks with jam, cereals, coffee, milk, or tea. There are also some variants with French croissants or yogurt and fruit, which are part of the traditional Greek breakfast. This kind of breakfast is considered to be the healthiest because it combines the right amounts of sugar and carbs, activating your body as fast as possible.
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Breakfast around the world
In other parts of the world, breakfast is usually salted rather than sweet: typically, the northern European countries prefer sausages, bacon, eggs, butter, and dark bread. In some Asian and eastern European countries people consume soups, mushrooms, and rice together with tea. In the USA it is normal to have pancakes or muffins. Of course, all these countries also offer simpler options for breakfast, which are closer to the Mediterranean model. However, the above mentioned and more traditional varieties are imbalanced: there is too much animal protein, compared to the amount of carbs. These dishes would be more suitable for lunch or dinner.
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Sometimes less is more
Whether you follow your country’s traditional model or you just go for a cup of coffee with some biscuits, you will surely know how important having a complete breakfast is to start your day right: you will always be reminded not to skip it! Unfortunately, complete does not always mean abundant. A simple breakfast, which mixes the right amount of sugar to the right amount of carbs and is not too heavy, will get your stomach and your brains ready for the day in a short amount of time.
Cover photo by Claudio Olivares Medina from Pexels
