3. Conclusion

As it has been already investigated in this paper our meal influences much on our health and our mood. That’s why I consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day as it is the first our meal and it can put us in good spirits.

The first and most important reason you should have breakfast is because your body really needs it. Your body needs fuel to re-energize and prepare for the long (and usually tiring) day ahead. Our brains are particularly hard-done by our skipping our breakfasts. The brain needs glucose, its main fuel, and that comes from food.

So, no breakfast - lack of concentration, lethargy, tiredness, etc. To my mind, this is a good reason why you need to recharge your body with the most important fuel of the day to give you a headstart and keep you going.

As my research shows, for schoolchildren especially having a good breakfast is important. The schoolchildren who eat their breakfast regularly have been shown to perform better at school, have been seen to be more active and have been seen to have less absenteeism from school.

Breakfast foods also contribute to a higher intake of essential nutrients/vitamins that our body needs. Some of them are vitamin C, thiamin, iron, calcium, etc.

So, we all need food. But at the same time we must keep to a balanced diet. It consists of all the things we need to be healthy and to have enough energy during the day. We must eat well, but not too much of the same food.

There are four main food groups to build our daily menu of:

1. milk and dairy foods (including cheese, yoghurt);

2. meat and fish (including eggs and chicken);

3. vegetables and fruit (including green vegetables, root vegetables, fruit juice);

4. potatoes and cereals (including bread, pasta, rice).

Each group is a good source of nutrients. A nutrient is a chemical or food that

provides the things we need to live and grow. A lot of meals are a combination of two or more of the main food groups.

We also eat other things: fat, oil, salt and sugar, for example. And of course, everyone eat snack foods (crisps, chips, sweets, etc.). It’s better to eat only a little of such kind of food or avoid it at all.

4. Literature and other sorces:

1. Benton D, Parker PY. (1998). Breakfast, blood glucose, and cognition. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 67(4):772S-778S.

2. Breakfast is Best Campaign: http://www.breakfastisbest.eu//

3. Build a Better Breakfast 5 tips to make the first meal your best meal by Anne T. Donahue

4. Hoyland A, Dye L, Lawton CL. (2009). Systematic review of the effect of breakfast on the cognitive performance of children and adolescents. Nutrition Research Reviews 22(2):220-243.

5. Rampersaud GC et al. (2005). Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight and academic performance in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 105(5):743-760.

6. Pearson N, Biddle SJ, Gorely T. (2009). Family correlates of breakfast consumption among children and adolescents. A systematic review. Appetite 52(1):1-7.

7. Mullan BA, Singh M. (2010). A systematic review of the quality, content, and context of breakfast consumption. Nutrition and Food Science 40(1):81-114.

8. Vereecken C, Dupuy M, Rasmussen M et al. (2009). Breakfast consumption and its socio-demographic and lifestyle correlates in schoolchildren in 41 countries participating in the HBSC study. International Journal of Public Health 54:S180-S190.

9. Szajewska H, Ruszczynski M. (2010). Systematic review demonstrating that breakfast consumption influences body weight outcomes in children and adolescents in Europe. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 50(2):113-119.

10. 8 Simple Ways to Eat Right by Alicia Merchant

11. The Many Benefits of Breakfast by Kathleen M.Zelman, MPH, RD, LD. – WebMD – Better information. Better Health. – http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/many-benifits-breakfasr

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