A nutritionist has suggested that a Mediterranean-style breakfast could become your new favorite go-to meal. The traditional Spanish breakfast consists of bread, extra virgin olive oil, ham, and tomato. But beyond that, the nutritionist emphasises the importance of “extending food intake” throughout the morning too.
Discussing a breakfast choice that many might overlook, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) highlights the significance of the first meal of the day. They stress that dairy products, cereals, fruit, oil, and butter should have a place in our diets rather than being excluded.
Doctor Antonio Escribano, a specialist in Endocrinology and Nutrition, makes the case for the Mediterranean breakfast as the healthiest option. He shared these insights on the TV program Salud al Día on Canal Sur.
What is a healthy breakfast?
Escribano says that a healthy breakfast combines many vital factors: “At that early hour of the morning, we are receiving several components that are like the beginning of the opera that is eating throughout the day,” reports abc.es.
“Olive oil, along with the protein in ham and the lycopene in tomato, ultimately compose a little tune that suits the body wonderfully”, he explained.
He also added that this breakfast should be “well-chewed and not in large quantities. When I see people having a huge toast that looks like a shoe sole and pouring half a litre of oil…that has calories and makes you gain weight” he reveals, urging people to “eat the right amount.”
Adding to the breakfast, he notes: “I would add a little bit of dairy to that breakfast. A small glass of whole milk to provide vitamins ‘A’, ‘D’, and ‘K’. It has three per cent fat, which is relevant; however, it contains all the vitamins that fat has.”
All of these combined together, you have “created a breakfast that doesn’t have to be consumed all at once. We can have milk or yoghurt mid-morning.
“We can have a piece of fruit an hour before lunch. Therefore, what I call an ‘extended breakfast’ is much better than having a substantial block of breakfast, which causes insulin, sugar, and glucose levels to drop and then not eating anything until midday. It’s better to maintain glucose levels throughout the morning.”
Doctor Michael Mosley and the Mediterranean diet
The advice is of course far from the first time that the benefits of olive oil have been praised. Doctor Mosley, who tragically passed away last year, swore by a daily tablespoon of olive oil, considering it a key element of the Mediterranean diet and a powerhouse of health benefits thanks to its high polyphenol content.
Extra virgin olive oil is even highlighted in the breakfast routine of Dr Antonio Escribano, who also swears by its benefits.
Doctor Mosley said: “Olive oil is also rich in something called Oleic acid, which, along with the polyphenols. [This] could explain why a good glug of olive oil a day can lower inflammation, improve our memory and reduce blood pressure.”
