Do you know that 15.2% of adults are reported to have always skipped their breakfast? It is sad to note this when there are health and wellness breakfast alternatives like meal shakes. It helps to know that if you don’t eat breakfast daily, you are missing essential nutrients, including calcium and vitamin C.
Shakes are a quick and convenient option for breakfast compared to other breakfast foods. Regardless of the ingredients, it requires very little preparation which saves time and energy during the early mornings.
Aside from it being quick and portable, you can tailor it according to your preferences since you can choose your ingredients. Well, the question at hand is are they healthy? Because at the end of the day, we all want to consume what is healthy for our bodies and what adds value as long as you moderate consuming a lot of calories.
In this article, we will discuss the health benefits of shakes as a breakfast meal, but before that, let us discuss the meal replacement shakes for breakfast.
What is a Meal Replacement Shake?
Meal replacement shakes are shakes that replace certain meal intake or nutrients. Those who are not fans of cooking in the morning can opt for meal replacement shakes for breakfast which is the easiest to prepare. Meal replacement shakes are very popular and some benefits and drawbacks need to be considered.
First, they are very convenient and can be the fastest way to consume a lot of calories into your body. This is especially when you’re in a rush and don’t have time to prepare solid food.
While opting for a shake as a meal, it is important that you ensure the shake is nutritious, this means it will contain a mix of fruits, some vegetables, nuts, and protein powder to make it a complete diet shake.
Well, everyone has their own different goals when opting for a meal replacement shake, and if your goal is to lose weight, then it would be much easier because you track your calories and ensure that the meal shake contains the essential nutrients.
Therefore, always make sure to check that the shake meets all your nutritional needs, considering your age, height, weight, and gender.
What Are the Major Health Benefits of Shakes for Breakfast?
1. Improves Health and Wellness
The perfect time to drink a shake is in the morning when your stomach is empty because your body will absorb the nutrients better. It also gives you some good energy to jumpstart your day! How would you feel when you start your day with a healthy drink? Awesome, right?
Healthy shakes contain a variety of ingredients including powdered nutrients, vegetables, fruits, nuts and coconut oil. These help to lower blood pressure, improve heart health, reduce stomach issues and increase energy.
Fiber is also an important essential in boosting your health because they are a natural prebiotic that is a great gut for health and boosts your immune system. The whole idea is to ensure that your body has enough nutrition from healthy smoothies and healthy fruits.
They make you feel mentally and physically strong. Healthy smoothies do not only reset your body system but also the taste and after a few days, you will start to crave healthier foods and more nutritious foods.
If you are fond of eating processed foods, you can opt for healthy habits such as shakes for breakfast because most of the time processed foods will make your stomach bloated.
2. Enhances Nutrition
It is so sad that many people around the globe usually are undernourished. Malnutrition can indeed exist even when the calories are in plenty.
The best way to avoid this is to emphasize more on foods that pack a good amount of nutrition and meal replacements such as shakes play a big role here. Ensure you also learn more about malnutrition, to avoid such terrible health conditions.
Also, you can customize your shake with all kinds of add-ins to have a nutritional balance like additional proteins, fruits and vegetables. All these vary from person to person, therefore you must consider age, body size and gender.
It is always important to get enough nutrition through meals every day since your body needs a certain amount of vitamins and minerals to keep your immune system strong. A healthy alternative to eating a nutritious meal during the day is nutritional drinks and shakes and especially meal replacement shakes.
Healthy nutritional drinks will contain a good amount of fiber, vitamins and proteins which are all necessary for your body daily. A lot of people who need nutritional care don’t have time to prepare large meals and most of the time they end up consuming nutritional shakes to keep them healthy.
3. Sustains Energy When Working Out
One of the easiest workout food options is a shake/smoothie, not because they are easy and quick to prepare, but because they give your body the two important nutrients that are needed for the workout, which are carbohydrates and proteins. Additionally, you can also consider taking meal replacement bars and gels to help you get through the day or a workout.
You may ask yourself why? It’s because the shakes are mostly made of fruits and they provide fast disgusting carbohydrates that give the body an energy boost for working out.
In addition, taking a shake in the morning is especially beneficial for working out routine and especially to athletes, mountain climbers and pregnant women. They are also necessary for tissue repairs and helps your body recover from an intense workout.
Protein shake for breakfast is an essential supplement for building your chest muscles, especially when doing an intense chest workout on a daily basis because it helps in muscle growth. It is also essential for those who work out from home because it is so convenient for pre and post-workouts.
If you are working out for weight loss, then the best shake to take is one with casein. It enhances the amount of energy and fat and your body burns out after working out. By burning out fats in your body you tend to lose weight.
Bottom Line
Drinking shakes for breakfast and especially protein shakes is a great alternative. It can be a quick and the most convenient way to consume and feed your body with nutrients. It’s an easier way to increase your protein intake.
Shakes can be also a very effective consumable for losing weight and growing muscles if you are working out. Having it as your choice of breakfast can be a very convenient way to eat fruits and vegetables as it is needed to stay healthy.
However, it is always important that apart from consuming proteins only, you can add ingredients with rich nutrients. This includes fruits and vegetables. That way, you create a perfect combination and a well-rounded diet to maximize its benefits on your body.