The big breakfast

Have you had your fruhstuck, proino, asa gohan or zavtrak this morning? iVillage nutritionist Dr Wynnie Chan takes us on a whistlestop tour of the world's breakfasts

Breakfast isn't called the most important meal of the day for nothing. Making time for eating breakfast is key to a healthy life. A good, nutritious start to the day will help you concentrate and make you more energetic. It may also lessen your desire to snack, helping you to stick to a weight loss or healthy eating plan.

The benefits of eating breakfast have an especially high impact on children. There is mounting evidence from scientific studies that a healthy breakfast is associated with improved performance at school. Breakfasting improves concentration and, consequently, academic achievement.

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A healthy breakfast should be high in carbohydrates and low in fat. So a full fry-up, complete with fried bread and sausages, is unlikely to do you any good. In this country, a healthy breakfast can be made up of a wide variety of items such as wholegrain cereals or porridge with reduced fat milk, low-fat yoghurts topped with fruit, fruit juices, wholegrain breads, grilled lean bacon, poached eggs and grilled vegetables.