Scientist shares 3 things to never have for breakfast as 'we've been lied to'

29 September 2023 , 09:55

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Cereal should be avoided due to the sugar spikes it can cause (Image: Getty Images/Blend Images)

Breakfast is seen by many as the most important meal of the day - but according to an expert, we may be doing it all wrong.

Sugary breakfasts cause a daily “rollercoaster” of sugar highs and lows throughout the day, according to French biochemist Jessie Inchauspe. She says marketing and branding has led us to believe sugary breakfasts are the best to kick off our day right, but that this is in fact “marketing which has lied to us for decades”.

Ms Inchauspe names three particular foods we should avoid in the mornings, including sugary cereals, orange juice and toast. She suggested “eradicating orange juice”, one of the products which has been falsely marketed as healthy. In fact, each cup of juice has approximately seven teaspoons of sugar.

Savoury dishes are best for staying full for longer when eaten at the right quantity and at the right time of day. Ms Inchauspe claims a savoury dish will also stop you snacking - as you aren’t permanently looking for a sugary fix, according to The Mail.

“People have told you for a very long time 'have an orange juice in the morning, it will give you energy', 'breakfast should be sweet – it should be pastries, cereal' but it’s all lies,” she explained at Randox’s Cost of Poor Nutrition conference. “Eating sweet breakfasts was invented by the food industry just to make money because breakfasts are very profitable.”

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Sweet breakfasts actually result in less circulating energy, the author of Glucose Goddess explained. Hitting a sugar or glucose low causes tiredness, hunger and cravings - but protein-filled foods such as eggs, healthy fat such as avocado or oily fish and fibre from vegetables help to avoid a “crash”.

“The best breakfast is a savoury breakfast that is based around protein. Protein is a very important substance to eat to keep you very satiated, the body needs it and we don't eat nearly enough of it,” she continued. “You can have leftovers from your dinner for breakfast – so maybe you had fish, veg and fritters – have that instead. The full English breakfast is actually not too bad if you make it at home and it's not processed.”

At the conference, food campaigner Dr Chris van Tulleken said sugary foods - particularly breakfast cereals - interrupt our “ability to say I’m full”. Research recently found that millions are at risk of heart problems due to the amount of ultra-processed foods we consume, with those eating the most mass-produced foods 24 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack.

Alex Croft