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A nutritionist has thrown his weight behind a local campaign to stop islanders skipping breakfast and restore interest in the most important meal of the day.
Sport and Exercise Nutritionist Kit Chamier has teamed up with Jersey Dairy to ‘Bring Back Breakfast’ and ensure islanders get the healthiest start possible.
The campaign is kicking off its corporate week today, bringing breakfast stations to various different offices in town to encourage staff members to have cereal and porridge before starting their working day.
Express caught up with Kit to find out why breakfast is so important...
Pictured: Jersey Dairy has launched a campaign to bring back breakfast. (Jersey Dairy)
“You’re waking up and you haven’t eaten for usually 10 to 12 hours. Literally the words 'breaking fast' mean that your body is ready for food and it needs that energy.
“Basically we’re using our food for our energy, but that energy is going to our brains so our brain needs to function, our muscles need to function, our organs need to function. So we’re putting in a lot of essential nutrients at that time to make sure things start the right way.”
Kit also explained that breakfast is particularly important for working people.
“The brain function is top of the list, really, when someone’s got to go in and focus all morning, make big decisions, interact with a lot of people, travel here and there – to think that they can do that on oxygen [alone] is impractical.”
Pictured: Kit says having a balanced breakfast is important for optimum brain function.
“You might think that you’re missing calories and that you’re going to be on a bit of a weight loss train, but actually it usually turns out that you eat more later on because you leave yourself getting too hungry. If you haven’t had a good protein source in the morning and your hunger levels are larger in the afternoon you end up not having that calorie deficit that you’re trying to work for.”
“A well-rounded one is important… The idea with Jersey Dairy is trying to get people to think about what’s actually in your breakfast. We’re all fully aware that there’s unhealthy breakfasts that you can get like very high sugar or low fibre, low protein and low nutrient content… by bringing in something like milk or yoghurt you tick that box very quickly. You can easily have a high-protein breakfast full of calcium, full of B-vitamins, full of fibre from the combinations that you make.”
Kit also urged islanders to be cautious of alternative milk options as he said that in comparison to cows’ milk, there are “huge differences in nutrition value”.
In terms of protein content, Kit explained that the only one which can “keep up” is soya, but in terms of vitamin and calcium content, the only unfortified option is cows’ milk. This, the nutritionist says, is part of the campaign because he feels there are “a lot of people being misled by those alternatives at the moment”.
Pictured: Some of Kit's recipe cards for the breakfast campaign. (Jersey Dairy)
He added that there is “a lot of scaremongering and rumours” about this issue, but the breakfast campaign seeks to put “the facts behind the milk”.
Commenting on the launch of the campaign’s corporate week, Jersey Dairy’s Marketing Co-Ordinator Jessica Burton said: “We are thrilled to have local companies on board with our campaign and recognise the importance of starting your day the right way. So many people skip breakfast because of their hectic lifestyles. By local firms offering a breakfast station it will keep employees fuelled until lunchtime, see energy levels increase, as well as being great for workplace wellbeing.”
As part of the campaign, Kit has also created recipe cards which give breakfast ideas which can be prepared the night before or don’t take too long to put together – including overnight oats and smoothie recipes.
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