Break your fast or it'll break you

Many students wake up half an hour before early morning classes, and the last thing on their mind is fitting in a well-balanced breakfast. Sure, we've all seen the commercials on TV that suggest eating specific cereals with 12 essential vitamins and minerals to be the key to a successful and healthy day.

But really, who's thinking about success at 8 a.m.?

Even so, maintaining a balanced diet is only one useful function of breakfast.

"I have long classes back-to-back and having breakfast helps keep me focused," said Melissa Rebai, a 7th-semester special education major. "Breakfast wakes me up in the morning."

Amy Pumerantz, the Nutrition coordinator and Health Educator at Student Health Services, highlighted a variety of positive aspects to fitting in the first meal of the day.

"Breakfast restores glucose, the brain's main energy source," Pumerantz said. "It increases concentration and cognitive function, increases metabolism, lowers the risk of indulging in high-calorie foods later in the day, can reduce irritability and anxiousness and provides for a more efficient workout or a post-workout meal."

"Sugar helps your memory get going," said Kristina Forzaglia, a 7th-semester elementary education major. "Usually my pre-exam meals consists of oatmeal, fruit, orange juice and something with sugar like a mini chocolate donut."

And if you skip breakfast in order to lose weight, you're dead wrong. Not eating breakfast is actually detrimental to your health.

"Researchers from the National Weight Control Registry, a database of more than 3,000 people who have lost at least 60 pounds and kept it off for an average of 6 years, found that eating breakfast every day was a weight control strategy for 78 percent of the people in the registry," according to mrbreakfast.com. "People who kept off weight long-term also reported eating a low-fat diet and exercising for an hour or more each day."

Pumerantz agreed. "If someone doesn't eat breakfast due to not being hungry, well, they won't be hungry if they do not eat breakfast. It is recommended to slowly try to eat something, even if it is small. Try to get a source of protein at breakfast.'

And for those of you who skip meals because of convenience before class, Dining Services has come up with a great alternative. Starting in October, grab and go's will offer a breakfast bag option, which according to Pumerantz is either pre-made or customizable similar to the lunch and dinner value meals.

However, students will need to plan ahead.

"They will be offered during the normal grab and go times but the grab and go's will not be opened during breakfast," said Pumerantz. "Therefore; students will need to plan ahead and go during dinner or after or sometime during the day and then store their breakfast in their refrigerators in their rooms to grab in the morning."

Even those students that already eat breakfast may want to reevaluate their routine. Not all breakfast foods are beneficial to the body.

Pumerantz suggests a variety of breakfast ideas, including whole grain cereal with banana slices and skim milk, scrambled egg whites with salsa and vegetables, and oatmeal with raisins and chopped walnuts among other options.

Typically, a number of students go for a common favorite: the bagel. It is important, however, to gauge the size of the bagel you are eating. Large bagels can be extremely high in calories.

"The amount of calories that is in the bagels you eat depends on various factors, such as where the bagels have been made and the type of bagel," according to associatedcontent.com. "It is also important to keep in mind that what you add to the bagel also adds calories. A plain bagel with cream cheese from Dunkin Donuts, for example, contains about 500 calories."

Try eating only half a bagel with some fruit instead, or skip the bagel altogether for two pieces of toast. Pay close attention to the calories and fiber content when making your bread selection; sometimes the most appealing types of bread might be the worst for you.