Bacon and Eggs for breakfast. Good for the brain and for losing weight.

Bacon and eggs for breakfast: if we need mental focus, drive and concentration during the day, then bacon and eggs will fulfill it.  If we desire weight loss or weight control, bacon and eggs for breakfast help us get our wish.  Yes, there is a problem with bacon and eggs for breakfast – but that problem has nothing to do with cholesterol levels or heart attacks.  For diabetes, bacon and eggs type breakfast reigns supreme.  And here’s why.

Bacon and eggs come under the high protein, low carb category.  The reason why eating such a breakfast gives much wanted results lies in its gentle effect upon blood sugar levels.  Any breakfast that revolves around carbohydrate, from porridge through brown toast to Crunchy Nut Cornflakes pushes up blood sugar which causes urgent hunger,  lack of concentration and mood swings when the blood sugar levels fall.  Yes, pre-soaked porridge has the least worst effect, but for best results, oats do not compare with a high protein breakfast.  And the best way of proving this lies in experimentation: porridge for breakfast: what happens to hunger levels at 4pm?  Sugar puffs for breakfast: what do we want to eat at 4pm? Bacon and eggs for breakfast: what happens to noshing desires at 4pm?  What do we want to eat most?  Biscuits, fruit or crisps?  Or will a few nuts suffice?  Of course, experiment with any breakfast, including nothing for breakfast.  Just take notes on hunger levels, mood, concentration, happiness.  Experimentation done, lets look at the problems with bacon and eggs.

The first problem with bacon and eggs for breakfast comes when we eat it every single day without variation.  If we eat any food everyday, we will become intolerant to that food, even if its brussels sprouts,  ‘Yum yum, here comes our daily lunch – boiled sprouts!’ we cry with glee -or maybe not.  When it comes to food intolerance ((By food intolerances I am not referring to food allergies – which result in us going into anaphylactic shock.  No, food intolerances lead to abdominal bloating, brain fog, sleepiness, possibly spots and addiction.)) some foods cause more problems than others, and the big 3 are wheat (rye and barley), dairy and eggs.  For the majority of us, these foods can be eaten – but occasionally and not everyday with gay abandon.  As I have said before, a sure sign of intolerance is addiction.  If the thought of trying a different breakfast fills us with a knee-jerk, ‘No.’ or the thought of not having porridge for breakfast, for example, is unthinkable, then the chances of us being addicted to the breakfast are high.  When we eat a food we are addicted to, we temporarily feel just fab – that is why we eat the food – then there is the aftermath of a bloated belly, sleepiness and possibly spots.  So whilst bacon and eggs can be an excellent starting point for getting used to a high protein breakfast, we need to start introducing other high protein alternatives that appeal to us as soon as possible.

Bacon itself, as a preserved food, presents additional problems of excess white salt and artificial preservatives, both of which are best minimized.

Of course, the nutritionists get extremely excited about bacon and eggs because they believe they drive up cholesterol and contain the deadly saturated fat.  I think the most accessible book to read on this subject is The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick – a nice, safe Scottish GP. In the book lies a chapter called, ‘Diet has nothing to do with heart disease.’  The part I’m going to pick out as an example comes from when Dr Kendrick talks about death from heart attacks around world war II, the years 1928 – 1955, which covers the 12 years of rationing.  During this period, the rates of heart attacks rose from about 40 deaths per 100,000 people to 500 deaths per 100,00 people.  During the rationing period, fish and vegetables were freely available whereas saturated fat was severely restricted – and the rate of heart disease nearly trebled.  Thoughts for the frying pan there.

The point about cholesterol is if the levels suddenly change – up or down – it signals that all is not well.  Bringing down cholesterol with statins equates to shooting the messenger or putting a damper on the fire. The causes of the change remains.  Such a shame, since we would all benefit from finding out why our cholesterol levels have changed; sorting out the root cause instead of fiddling about on the surface.  But of course, if we did this, the profits made out of ill health would crash.  And that wouldn’t do the economy much good.

Bottom line: a high protein breakfast, with some fat,  sets us up for a good, productive, slender making day. Each day sees a different breakfast making it an exciting start.  And coffee (or tea) is good with it. How to change things: wake up the population, make it healthier and slimmer.