A healthy breakfast is a crucial start to a new day

As school season is approaching, children and families are in sweet rush. However, school children generally neglect to have proper and healthy breakfast. Pediatrist Pınar Boncuk Dayanıklı said, "Starting your day with breakfast is the most important thing for growing children. Brain does not work well without sufficient glucose which enables children to easily understand and remember new things." Considering the benefits of breakfast, Dayanıklı informed that children who have regular breakfast are healthier. "Whole-grain or oatmeal bread is very beneficial to get sufficient level of fiber. Olives and eggs are rich in protein and healthy oil," she continued.

A healthy breakfast must include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. On the other hand, children who skip breakfast might suffer from overweight or obesity. There are many adolescents who skip breakfast to keep fit. However, they can gain more weight by consuming caloric snacks and meals through a day.Other negative impacts include dizziness, loss of attention and tiredness. Dayanıklı reminded that a healthy breakfast positively influence children's success, concentration and energy at school.

A dynamic brain improves children's learning capacity, allowing them to become more successful in exams. Dayanıklı also explained how an ideal breakfast should be. First, breakfast should be rich in protein. It is recommended to consume egg, milk and cheese to meet daily calcium requirement. "Starting from the adolescent period to 20'a, bones store calcium and become thicker. Vitamin D is found in very few nutrition including eggs. This is why it is important to consume eggs since children have less chance to get Vitamin D in winter," she added. Vitamin D not only facilitates calcium absorption, but also positively influence immunity and protect against cancer.

Additionally, breakfast cereals with cacao, rice and corn have high glycemic index, which offers information about how foods affect blood sugar and insulin. The level of carbohydrate in a bowl of cornflakes might be same with a bowl of oat, but their glycemic indexes are different. While cornflakes increases and reduces blood sugar within two hours, whole-grain nutrition gradually increases blood sugar and provide enough energy for morning hours. The sudden decline in blood sugar might affect children's mood and concentration.

Dayanıklı suggested to consume fibrous food along with nut, fresh and dried fruit, almond and hazelnut.She further underlined that children should go sleep early. Parents should also spare enough time and accompany children at breakfast. According to some scientific studies, obesity is less seen in children who have meals with family. If children resist having breakfast, parents can prepare practical food like sandwiches with whole-grain bread, tomato, cheese and egg. Alternatively, children can consume yogurt and dried fruits.