“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is true not only for keeping you fueled throughout the day. It also sets the tone for your gut health. Choosing the right breakfast foods can help keep your gut healthy and happy.
A healthy gastrointestinal tract ensures that your bowel movement is regular. It also enhances your gut microbiome, keeping your immune system strong and your gut-brain connection sound.
The ideal first meal of the day is full of fiber-rich carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fats. This balanced combination will help prevent acid reflux, bloating, constipation, and other stomach problems. Having a nutrient-rich breakfast would also keep you full until lunch and reduce the chances of overeating.
Hydration First
Before we discuss quick breakfast ideas that are gut-friendly, let’s talk about your number one safeguard against gut problems: water.
Water should be your appetizer before every meal but it’s especially important first thing in the morning. While you’re asleep, you could lose hydration. Keeping yourself hydrated solves a lot of problems. It also makes sure your digestive system does what it needs to.
Drinking water to start your day also prevents bloating and constipation.
Formula For a Gut-Friendly Breakfast
Satisfying and gut-friendly meals need to contain a balanced protein, a fiber-rich carbohydrate or starch, and a source of lean fat.
This keeps you full and fueled towards lunch so you don’t reach for a snack too early in the day. As a busy person, your days could be unpredictable, so it’s best to have that buffer first thing in the morning.
Fiber also stimulates motility, bulks your stool, promotes regular digestion, and helps you prevent major chronic illnesses.
Other nutrients to look out for include vitamin E, vitamin D, and probiotics. Antioxidant compounds also help prevent inflammation – reducing the risk for many stomach problems such as IBS – and promote a long life.
If you’re short on time, it’s best to stock up on breakfast options that are easy to prepare and grab on the go.
Gut-Friendly Breakfast Options
What kind of food can you prepare to keep your gut healthy and your stomach satiated through the morning?
Fiber-rich cereal With Milk and Fruit
The combination of high-fiber cereal with low-fat or skim milk with fruit – whatever is in season – can be easily put together in less than a minute while still hitting all the components of a gut-friendly breakfast.
Look for a cereal that’s low in added sugars and high in fiber. Options include shredded wheat, multigrain clusters, or the trust old oatmeal.
Try to keep things varied with your fruit options. Pick what’s in season from your local market so your taste buds don’t get bored.
Steel-cut oatmeal with fruits and nuts
Beta-glucan is a soluble fiber that keeps your gut regular and prevents constipation. You can find it in steel-cut oatmeal, which undergoes less processing compared to rolled oats. This means it keeps more of the nutrient and fiber content of oatmeal.
For added nutrition, you can add toasted walnuts or almonds. You can also add berries or any fruit to satisfy any craving for sweets.
The downside to steel-cut oats is that they can be time-consuming to prepare. Making them would take around 20 to 30 minutes so they are often prepared as overnight oats. Simply add milk or yogurt (for extra protein) to your steel-cut oats in a container and refrigerate overnight. This gives you an easy grab-and-go breakfast option for your busy days.
If you don’t have the time to prepare steel-cut oats in advance, rolled oats only take five to ten minutes. They may have less fiber because of how it’s processed but they still keep many of oatmeal’s health benefits.
Small protein- and fiber-rich snacks
If breakfast is really hard to fit into your schedule, find time after the morning rush settles down to have some mid-morning breakfast packed with protein and fiber.
This combination will keep you fairly satiated and energized until it’s lunch or time for your next snack. You just need to make sure they contain all the nutrients mentioned above.
Examples of these quick snacks or breakfast options are:
- A hard-boiled egg
- Multi-grain crackers with cheese or peanut butter
- Yogurt with granola or oatmeal
- Roasted mixed nuts and dried fruit
- Leftover brown rice or quinoa with sauteed veggies and fish or chicken
- Whole grain toast with avocado and egg
- Tofu or egg scramble wrap with veggies
Keep your options simple so you can easily put them in a small food container. If you could prepare it in a way that it’s bite-sized or easy to eat like finger food, it would make getting a healthy first meal easier.
Takeaway
Starting your day with a glass of water and a breakfast packed with fiber, unsaturated fats, and lean protein can help keep your gut running smoothly. It also makes sure you have enough energy to get through the day, or at least until lunch.
Ideally, your quick and easy breakfast would also have other important nutrients for your gut health such as probiotics, antioxidants, minerals such as magnesium, and vitamins including the immunity-boosting vitamins C, D, and E.
A healthy breakfast can prevent stomach problems from disrupting your already busy day. If you’re starting to feel symptoms or discomfort, Travel-Eeze also provides quick relief in individual packets you can easily dissolve in your morning glass of water.
