There’s that age old saying that goes like this: Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Dine like a Pauper. Why should you be breakfasting like a king though? It’s long been argued that it is the most important meal of the day, that’s why. Breakfast provides the body and brain with fuel after a night of sleeping, or an overnight fast – that’s where its name originates, from breaking the fast.

Breakfast, commonly known as brekkie, provides us with energy for the day. Often, breakfast foods are the source of important nutrients such as calcium, iron and B vitamins, protein and fibre. Here’s a good point to remember: eating brekkie can be good for your waistline. Research shows those who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight and more likely to be within their ideal weight range compared with breakfast skippers. The reason why? If you slip your morning meal you’re more likely to reach for  high-sugar, fatty snack mid-morning, or overeat at lunch.

Breakfast also restores glucose levels, an essential carbohydrate that is needed for the brain to function.

No breakfast means a slower, tired mind, sometimes even resulting in increased stress levels. As if life wasn’t stressful enough! Well, stop skipping your first meal of the day and maybe those stress levels will decrease a bit.

I know it’s all very well and good saying how important it is to eat breakfast, but we’re all running busy lives and sometimes just getting to your desk in the morning is an accomplishment. If I can give you one little tip, it would be popping in to Osumo on your way to the office. Have a look at their breakfast menu:

How badly do you wish you had eaten breakfast now?

Osumo‘s brekkie menu is all about eggs and oats, both of which are good for you. Oats have been known to control blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol and improve insulin sensitivity amongst other things. Eggs raise the levels of good cholesterol (or High Density Lipoprotein), they’re packed full of the B vitamins, and they are protein.

If you want to add in a bit extra to your breakfast round, have a juice:

Remember that breakfast doesn’t take long to prepare – you’re not slow roasting two rashers of bacon for seven hours. Waking up an extra few minutes early to be in the kitchen at home (or at Osumo) won’t kill you… No, but really. It will probably make you live longer.