What to eat for breakfast to ensure you start the day full of energy

It turns out the snooze button on your alarm is actually counterproductive. If you fall back asleep for a short period of time and are then woken up again, you end up feeling anything but more relaxed and refreshed. Therefore, the best way to start the day full of energy is to get up as soon as your alarm clock rings. And above all, you need a vitamin-rich breakfast, as this not only helps you to tackle the day better but also provides you with enough energy to help get you through to lunch.

The best foods to combat fatigue

If you always feel quite sleepy on a morning, it’s worth knowing that some foods can help to wake you up. Which foods, we hear you ask? Products that are rich in vitamins and that stimulate the body!

• Fruit juices help wake you up

To help you wake up gently and make you feel fresher on those difficult early mornings, there’s nothing better than fruit! Fruits are filling and rich in vitamins and fibre. You could have them in a smoothie or even make juices out of them.

To save time, you could always freeze your fruit and then throw it in a blender with a splash or water or milk. Of course, you could always eat this fruit whole, such as nectarines, apples, berries, kiwis or bananas.

• A hot drink helps you feel more energetic

Many people swear by their morning coffee, but it turns out this isn’t the best way to start off the day. The more coffee you drink, the less effective it becomes and as a result, you end up drinking more and more of it, which isn’t great when you take into account the recommended daily maximum caffeine intake.

Therefore, it would be better to have a green or herbal tea with spices or ginger instead, such as chai tea, for example. These drinks also wake you up but also give you a slow but sustainable boost of energy that won’t make your heart pound out of your chest.

• Whole grain products

Whether it's muesli, granola or bread, there is just one rule you have to follow: they should be whole grains. Forget about the usual wheat flour and instead, go for products made from other types of flour (spelt, rye, whole grain, buckwheat…) as well as whole-grain cereals and oleaginous fruits such as almonds.

A good breakfast option would be some natural yoghurt with whole-grain cereal and nuts or a slice of whole-grain bread with almond butter. If you prefer a hearty breakfast, why not try a slice of wholemeal bread with ham and cream cheese? This will ensure that you can get through the morning without flagging!

• Superfoods

Superfoods also provide the body with lots of energy. Matcha, spirulina, açai, turmeric and ginseng are your best friends when it comes to starting the day off right. Try adding some of these foods to your smoothies, cereal, teas or even bread!

Warning! Certain foods can be counterproductive!

Now you know everything you need to know about the best sources of energy on a morning but be careful, certain foods have the complete opposite effect on the body.

Industrially produced fruit juices, excessively sweetened muesli, sweet pastries, sweet chocolate spread and jam buns for example, just sap the energy from the body.

They also contain bad carbohydrates. They make you feel awake and lively for a short period of time after eating them, but a few hours later, your body feels slower and you feel like you have no energy left. That’s why these short-chain, fast-acting carbohydrates are so dangerous and you should only eat them occasionally!