The Quintessential Meal

Something of highest quality and importance to a person or on a person's way of living can be described as quintessential. When I thought of something that is quintessential to my life, I concluded that breakfast is the quintessential meal of my day. Sure, it happens to be at a time when we aren’t that hungry and can easily skip eating, but the importance of breakfast lies deeper within its core. Breakfast wakes you up and keeps you going. It is truly an amazing meal.

The great thing about breakfast is that there are a wide of choices you have. You can easily have a very healthy breakfast if you eat cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, fruits and other health items without the person next to asking, “that’s all your eating?” which he would’ve asked had you been eating just a salad for dinner. If you have a sweet tooth you can eat pancakes, french-toast, or waffles. Similarly, if you crave protein you can have bacon, eggs, or sausages. The choices are endless at the breakfast table.

Breakfast is an important part of everyone’s nutritional diet. Your body, including your brain gets its energy from glucose. Your body runs for ten to twelve hours without any food intake from super to when you wake up. As your glucose levels drop, “your body compensates by releasing the glucose that has been stored in your muscle tissue and liver, called glycogen. Once all of the energy from the glycogen stores is used up, the body breaks down fatty acids to produce energy”.

Waking up to a nice breakfast can even help those who are watching their weight. Eating breakfast can help to quicken the metabolism. When breakfast isn’t eaten,
“excess kilojoules [“a unit equivalent to 0.239 nutritional calories” (www.dictionary.com)] eaten during one sitting are stored as body fat, once the glycogen storage areas are full. People who skip breakfast are usually ravenous by lunchtime and tend to eat more to compensate”.

Breakfast is a fulfilling part of life. Research from Australia proves that “children who eat an inadequate breakfast are more likely to make poor food choices for the rest of the day and in the long term”. In addition, “skipping breakfast can diminish mental performance”. Therefore having breakfast as a part of your day now, can help you in the future.

Family meals are also important to the wellbeing and stability of a family and it’s individuals. While most families eat together at dinner, breakfast can be a great meal to share. After having to wake up early in the morning, families can feed off of each other’s energy making them emotionally and mentally ready for the day ahead.

As you can see, breakfast is the most important meal. I would never go a day without it. It gives me something to wake up for, something to look forward to. It gives me the boost of energy I need makes me feel like I started my day doing something right. Sure, we all look forward to lunch to take a break from our busy lives and help tie us to the end of the day. Dinner is nice as well and is very relaxing and enjoyable at the end of the day. However breakfast’s purpose is true, as it helps us all lead better lives.

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