Is Your Breakfast Making Chronic Pain Worse?

The American Breakfast has got to go.  There are three macronutrients - carbohydrates, fats and proteins.  A well balanced meal should contain all three.  Most American breakfasts contain only carbohydrates or are heavily weighted to carbohydrates.  For example, A bagel, a bowl of cereal with, a smoothie made from frozen fruit.   Breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day.  If we don’t fuel properly with breakfast, we stress out our endocrine system and trigger responses like insulin spikes, inflammation and increased cortisol.  This type of response ultimately feeds our pain not our bodies.Whether patients are coming for pain, weight loss, fatigue, stress or anxiety; we always talk lifestyle.  Along with getting enough sleep, adequate hydration and appropriate movement; diet is one of the four pillars I discuss in my approach to lifestyle counseling.  For many getting a more balanced breakfast is the only change I ask them to make.  Here’s a challenge: Look at your breakfast meals this week from a macronutrient perspective.  Is it carbohydrate heavy?  If so what can you do to make it more balanced across all three macronutrients?  Some suggestions: Add an egg and spinach to your bagel.  Make your cereal only part of your breakfast versus the whole meal so you can have some protein and fat too.  Consider non breakfast foods for breakfast, such as chicken breast, broccoli and rice.Got questions about your nutrition and your pain, let’s talk.  Schedule a free phone consultation.