Toast with jam or cereals, orange juice and coffee with milk. This is the typical breakfast of many Spaniards. A suggestion that seems to have everything going for it, but, according to metabolism expert Jessie Inchauspé, it contains almost everything except the essentials.
Toast with jam, cereals or orange juice trigger blood sugar spikes that may be responsible for feeling tired throughout the day and experiencing cravings. That is the excess. And what is missing are the proteins. Jessie Inchauspé asserts that starting the day with a protein‑rich breakfast is the key to feeling energised all day long. Let’s find out why.
Sugar at breakfast robs you of energy
People have long believed that a sweet breakfast gives us energy. However, science has shown that this is not the case.
“What happens in your body when you start the day with oats with honey, granola, fruit juice, toast or muesli?” asks biochemist Jessie Inchauspé. Two things happen, she explains, known online as the “glucose goddess”.
The first is that your brain experiences a big dopamine hit and you feel momentarily awake; but it’s really just pleasure, not true energy.
And the second is that the mitochondria, the batteries of the cells that power your body, become fatigued by the morning sugar and starch excess. “They hate it. You might think you’re getting energy from something sweet in the morning, but in reality you’re damaging your mitochondria and creating long‑term chronic fatigue. So don’t do it. Switch to a savoury, protein‑based breakfast.” The advice could not be clearer, she insists.
More sweet cravings
Besides fatigue, eating something sweet first thing in the morning triggers a post‑breakfast glucose spike that makes you hungry sooner and also drives more cravings, aiding weight gain.
What’s more, consuming sugar early in the day is worse than doing so in the afternoon because the body is more glucose sensitive. In short: breakfast is the worst time to eat purely sweet foods, and this is what many people do, warns the expert.
Inchauspé explains in her book “The Glucose Revolution: The Method” why a savoury, protein‑based breakfast is the key to maintaining steady glucose levels throughout the day.
“If you stabilise breakfast, the rest of the day will flow much more smoothly. You can eat whatever you fancy for the rest of the day. And if you have cravings, don’t try to suppress them. Eat what you want. You’ll find that as your glucose levels stabilise with this new trick, your cravings will naturally diminish.”, explains the biochemist and author.
The ideal breakfast to keep you energised all morning
The expert advises starting the day with protein, though that doesn’t mean eating processed meat. Protein is satiating and helps keep glucose steady; so include in your breakfast Greek yoghurt, tofu, tuna, cheese, nuts, seeds, eggs, turkey…
Add some healthy fats. You might include a couple of slices of avocado or add almonds or chia seeds to Greek yoghurt. The author recommends Greek yoghurt with 5% fat rather than skimmed. The reason is that the metabolism finds it harder to process fats (they should be good fats) to convert them into energy for the cells, and that helps avoid glucose spikes. With sugar, the opposite is true: it passes quickly from the gut into the bloodstream and spikes blood sugar levels.
Don’t forget fibre, as it slows the passage of sugars into the bloodstream. A way to include fibre at breakfast is to have vegetables. Add spinach to scrambled eggs; include tomato, courgette, sauerkraut or lettuce on the toast…
No sweet stuff, except fruit in its whole form. The expert discourages dried fruit, fruit juices, honey, agave or other sugars. Only whole fruit is allowed and optional. The rest of the day you can have sweet things, but it’s better to avoid them at breakfast to keep glucose levels steady.
Optional starches. If you fancy it, you can include some bread, potato or corn tortilla at breakfast, but in small amounts.
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