Food as Fuel

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially for children. The word breakfast comes from the saying "To Break Fast." Eight to ten hours of sleep during the night was considered a fast from food. The first meal following a night's sleep was breaking the fast. The morning meal supplies the food fuel for energy that lasts the entire day. The morning assimilation of important nutrients, carbohydrates, proteins and fats is what fires up our brain cells and allows us to better focus. Breakfast should be the largest meal of the day, full of healthy carbohydrates like whole grain cereals or oats, fruit for a quick pick-me up and a yogurt or egg for protein.

Lunch is the meal that gets us through the afternoon. Lunch is the middle meal and should not be as large as breakfast. Lunch should be a medium carbohydrate meal with an emphasis on protein. Whole grain bread with natural peanut butter and jelly, a glass of milk and a piece of fruit would be an ideal example for the perfect lunch. If peanut butter is a problem, turkey breast and a slice of cheese is just as good.

Dinner should be the smallest meal of the day and the meal lowest in carbohydrates. A healthy salad with grilled chicken breast and a side of broccoli would illustrate the components of a healthy dinner. This meal plan, the descending order of meal sizes is designed for a reason. As the day goes on, a person's energy and or caloric requirements change. For instance, carbohydrates like bread, pasta and potatoes are used for energy. Once eaten, they are broken down slowly and then their calories are used for fuel. This is great for the morning when our body needs energy for the day ahead, but this is not good for evening. In the evening, we are usually sedentary and do not burn much energy or calories. By the time the food is digested and it's calories are ready to be used for fuel, we are in for bed. The excess calories are then stored as fat. In general, think of breakfast as the carbohydrate, energy meal. Think of lunch as the smaller, pick-me-back-up meal, and dinner as the smallest, "We don't need the energy meal."

Thought for the Week: "Whence comes greatness? The potential is in you. It lies dormant, inactive, like a smouldering volcano choking back it's pent-up fires, ready to burst forth as soon as a natural opening is made possible." -----BJ Palmer, D.C. 1949

Chiropractic Thought for the Week: "I see people going to the chiropractor to get well and leaving their kids home to get sick."

----Reggie Gold, D.C. 1986