It seems strange to have salads for breakfast, however, more and more people are including them in the morning because they contain everything you need to start the day full of nutrients and energy.
We know that having vegetables for breakfast is not very typical in the western diet, but it is quite common in the diets of other parts of the world.
But as we've mentioned, having salads for breakfast is a great way to start your day with nutrient-dense foods. A morning salad can boost your productivity and mood, improve your digestion, and also help you lose weight.
Health benefits of eating salads for breakfast
Breakfast salads generally consist of vegetables topped with various other foods, such as eggs, cheese, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, and beans.
If you don't know how to add more whole foods to your diet, a salad in the morning is an easy way. With this you guarantee a variety of benefits for the health of the body. For example:
Boost your mood and productivity
High-complex carbohydrate, low-fat breakfasts, such as well-balanced breakfast salads, appear to improve mood and reduce fatigue more effectively than low-carb, high-fat options such as eggs, potatoes fries and bacon.
The mood-boosting effect of high-carbohydrate, low-fat breakfasts are breakfasts that include complex carbohydrates found in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, compared to simple carbohydrates in breakfast cereals and pastries.
Breakfast foods that contain complex carbohydrates can also help boost mental performance, such as attention, memory, and information processing.
Research shows that green leafy vegetables can be particularly effective in maintaining brain function as you age. In turn, this can increase productivity.
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cabbage and bell peppers can provide some antidepressant benefits. Therefore, adding them to your salads can further improve your mood.
Eating salads for breakfast improves your digestion
What makes breakfast salads so functional is that they are naturally rich in fiber and water, which can help with your digestion. Fiber is soluble or insoluble.
Soluble fiber feeds beneficial gut bacteria, which in turn produce short-chain fatty acids, such as acetate, butyrate, and propionate.
The insoluble one adds bulk to the stool and helps move food through the intestine, reducing the likelihood of constipation. Foods rich in liquids, such as most breakfast salads, can also help fight constipation.
These fatty acids feed your intestinal cells, reduce inflammation, and can fight certain intestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.
Various foods contain both types of fiber. Good sources include:
· Insoluble fiber: potatoes, whole grains, lentils, beans, peas, most fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
· Soluble fiber: beans, oats, pears, avocados, figs, apples, sweet potatoes, bananas, flax seeds, hazelnuts, and sunflower seeds.
Depending on their ingredients, breakfast salads are probably high in both types of fiber.
They improve your general health and protect you from diseases
Breakfast salads are an easy way to increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables that contain numerous nutrients and plant compounds that benefit your health and protect you from disease.
For example, common cruciferous and leafy greens in salads can protect against type 2 diabetes, mental decline, and heart disease.
Keep in mind that eating breakfasts high in sugar or fat frequently can increase your risk of heart disease or cause you to develop more belly fat, which is a risk factor for many chronic diseases.
Therefore, replacing your typical breakfast with a salad can help you keep your heart healthy and avoid other chronic diseases.
It can help you lose weight
Needless to say, salads for breakfast can be of great help if you are currently trying to lose weight.
Salads are rich in water and fiber, but require a lot of chewing. These factors can help reduce hunger and increase satiety, causing you to eat less.
They are also low in calories, depending on how you prepare them of course, but they tend to pack few calories which can further contribute to weight loss.
Research links high consumption of fruits and vegetables to weight loss or less weight gain over time. Adding a protein source to your breakfast salad can further reduce hunger and increase senna.