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Breaking the Breakfast Barrier
By: Philip J. Goscienski, M.D.
Why was breakfast fun when you were a kid? Because Mom made it, it was probably sugary, and you didn’t have to do the dishes!
Now you’re the whole show, maybe for the rest of the family, and there’s just never enough time in the morning to get the kids to school and for you to get what most nutritionists have pegged as the most important meal of the day. You know that sugar coating is not good, that persons who eat breakfast have an easier time maintaining their weight than those who don’t, and a news report just informed you that breakfast-skippers don’t perform as well at school or on the job. What a dilemma!
Can you make a breakfast that’s convenient, quick and healthy? Sure, and here are a couple of examples.
The Thirty-Second Slammer. Atkins it’s not, but it’s quick, healthy and tasty. A cold cereal is still at the top of the list for most Americans, but without sugar it usually tastes like wet cardboard. It takes literally about 30 seconds (I timed it) to slice half a banana or a couple of strawberries, or dump some blueberries or raspberries in the bowl before adding milk. If you can’t take dairy products because of lactose intolerance, the latest soy milks, with their subtle-not-sweet flavors give you even better nutrition.
Sweet, Hot and Easy. Perfect for cold mornings: oatmeal and spice. Not the individual packets, which have way too many calories, but regular (not instant) oatmeal. Pop it in the microwave with a little skim milk, soy milk or other substitute (easy on the non-dairy coffee creamers with their load of trans fat) for about one minute and 45 seconds. Then sprinkle some cinnamon and a few raisins over the top. (Recent studies suggest that about ½ teaspoon of cinnamon per day can help to lower cholesterol levels, and might also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.) Ignore the longer microwave cooking directions on the box; overheating spoils the flavor.
If you can spare another 30 seconds, try the fruit here, too.
High-Tech Omelette. Non-stick fry pans, egg substitutes and frozen veggies make it a breeze to have a filling, heart-healthy breakfast with no fuss and minimal cleanup. Preheat the pan and pour in the Eggbeaters or something similar. (These are not artificial eggs, they’re egg whites with a little coloring, vegetable oils, tofu, etc.) If you think of it the night before, pour some frozen stir-fry vegetables into a measuring cup (1/2 cup per serving) and let it thaw in the refrigerator. That helps it to cook a little faster in the morning. Besides stir-fry vegetables there are plenty of other choices in the frozen foods section.
When the eggs are partly cooked, toss in the veggies.
Anything that needs cleaning up can go into the dishwasher and you and the kids can be on your way.
Breakfast Au Natural. The ultimate in speed and convenience, but which will likely keep hunger away until lunchtime, it’s nothing more than a few ounces of yogurt to which you add two handfuls of trail mix. The latter will cover the blandness of the yogurt, but choose it carefully. Skip the ones with chocolate chips!
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About The Author
Philip J. Goscienski, M.D. is a pediatric infectious diseases specialist with a 45-year career in clinical and academic medicine. Dr. Goscienski has written for the Saturday Evening Post and Currents, the national newsletter of the American Heart Association and is a featured writer for North San Diego County Magazine. He has drawn on his interests in biology, anthropology, paleopathology and physical fitness to develop Better Life Seminars, a series of presentations in which he explains how our most distant ancestors lived, and how we can apply this knowledge to extend our healthspan and avoid the major chronic diseases of our age. His book, Health Secrets of the Stone Age is based on his seminars, and on the most recent findings in medical and anthropological research. It is scheduled for a January 2005 release date. You can visit his web site at www.stoneagedoc.com.
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This article was posted on December 21, 2004
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How to Benefit from the Mind-Body Connection
(excerpt)
You are about to gain insight into the
mind-body connection. The number of
people who truly understand these principles on our
planet are relatively few.
There is an undeniable connection between our minds and
bodies, you can learn
to use this fact to your benefit.
Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of "Love, Medicine and
Miracles" was once a
distraught cancer surgeon until he
began to understand the greater principles
of the mind-
body connection. He felt dragged down by the artificial
barriers
that existed between patient and doctor, and the
helplessness he often felt as
a result of his inability
to effectively serve those patients. Eventually, those
barriers
were disintegrated by Dr. Siegel's recognition
and growing understanding of the
mind-body connection and
how it could serve his patients and himself.
Dr. Siegel, or Bernie as he began to have his patients
refer to him, had some
startling realizations as a cancer surgeon. He found that
there were actually
quite a few people in the world that successfully beat
the statistics on cancer
survival. He began to recognize that a patient's ability
to defeat something as
serious as cancer had to do with the patient's mind and
attitude about their
disease.
If you would like to see the rest of
this article, please go here:
http://www.tobeinformed.com/repository/mind-body.html
copyright 2004 - David Snape
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