Kids who skip breakfast may miss key nutrients

Children who skip breakfast on a regular basis are likely to fall short for the day in getting all their recommended essential nutrients, a UK study suggests.

Kids who skipped breakfast every day were less likely to get enough iron, calcium, iodine and folate when compared to kids who ate breakfast every day, the research team found.

“A greater proportion of those children who ate breakfast met their recommended intakes of these micronutrients compared to breakfast skippers,” coauthors Gerda Pot and Janine Coulthard of Kings College London told Reuters Health in an email interview.

“These findings suggest that eating breakfast could play an important role in ensuring that a child consumes enough of these key micronutrients,” Pot and Coulthard said.

Though older children were more likely to skip breakfast, the day’s nutrient shortfall was greater when younger children missed the morning meal.

“Our research indicated that although lower proportions of 4-to-10-year-olds skipped breakfast regularly compared to 11-to-18-year-olds, greater differences in micronutrient intakes were seen in the younger age group when comparing days on which they ate breakfast with days on which they skipped it. It may, therefore, be particularly important to ensure that this younger age group eats a healthy breakfast, either at home or at a school breakfast club.”

Researchers examined four-day food diaries for almost 1,700 children ages 4 to 18. The information was taken from a yearly national diet and nutrition survey between 2008 and 2012.

Breakfast was defined as consuming more than 100 calories between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Overall, about 31 percent of kids ate breakfast daily, 17 percent never ate breakfast, and the rest ate it some days and skipped it on others. In this group, the researchers also compared differences in nutrient intake by the same child on different days.

The team found that 6.5 percent of kids aged 4 to 10 missed breakfast every day, compared with nearly 27 percent of 11-to-18-year-olds.

Girls were more likely to miss breakfast than boys, and household income tended to be higher for families of children who ate breakfast every day.

More than 30 percent of kids who skipped breakfast did not get enough iron during the day, compared to less than 5 percent of kids who ate breakfast, the researchers report in British Journal of Nutrition.

Around 20 percent of breakfast skippers were low on calcium and iodine, compared to roughly 3 percent of kids who ate breakfast.

About 7 percent of children who skipped breakfast were low in folate, compared to none in the groups that ate breakfast.

Fat intake went up when kids skipped breakfast, researchers found.

Kids who skipped breakfast didn’t seem to compensate by eating more calories later in the day. In fact, kids who didn’t eat breakfast ended up eating the same number or fewer total calories as kids who ate breakfast every day.

Making sure kids eat breakfast appears to be more difficult in the older age group, who are possibly less receptive to parental supervision, Pot and Coulthard said.

“One tactic would be to get children involved in making breakfast, maybe even preparing something the night before if time is short in the morning.”

The authors noted there are a wealth of healthy, simple and tasty recipe ideas available on social media that children can choose from, adding that kids might even like to post a picture of their creations online.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Skipping breakfast may be bad for your heart, doctors say

Planning meals and snacks in advance and eating breakfast every day may help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, new guidelines from U.S. doctors say.

Eating more calories earlier in the day and consuming less food at night may also reduce the odds of a heart attack, stroke or other cardiac or blood vessel diseases, according to the scientific statement from the American Heart Association.

"When we eat may be important to consider, in addition to what we eat," said Marie-Pierre St-Onge, chair of the group that wrote the guidelines and a nutrition researcher at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

As many as 30 percent of U.S. adults may routinely skip breakfast, a habit that has become more common in recent years as more people snack throughout the day instead of sitting down for three traditional meals, St-Onge and colleagues note in the journal Circulation.

When people do eat breakfast daily, they're less likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease like high cholesterol and elevated blood pressure. And people who skip this morning meal are more likely to have risk factors like obesity, poor nutrition and diabetes or high blood sugar.

That's because meal timing may affect health by impacting the body's internal clock. We may not process sugars as well at night as we do during the day, and studies of shift workers have linked this schedule with a greater risk of obesity and heart disease than a typical day job, St-Onge said by email.

"We know from population studies that eating breakfast is related to lower weight and healthier diet, along with lower risk of cardiovascular disease," St-Onge said.

"However, interventions to increase breakfast consumption in those who typically skip breakfast do not support a strong causal role of this meal for weight management, in particular," St-Onge cautioned. "Adding breakfast, for some, leads to an additional meal and weight gain."

It's possible that some people who add breakfast aren't eating the right things or cutting back on what they eat later in the day, resulting in more calories but not necessarily good nutrition.

A healthy diet is heavy on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, poultry and fish, according to the guidelines. Eating well also means limiting red meat, salt and foods high in added sugars.

Plotting out what to eat ahead of time, especially for busy people who eat on the go, can help create a diet that's better for heart health, St-Onge said.

"Planning ahead and making healthy, carry-on foods is important," St-Onge suggested. "This could be a homemade smoothie or whole grain muffin or cereal bar for breakfast; packing a sandwich or leftovers for those times when time is tight."

Advance thought can also help people eat the right amount of food throughout the day and eat at the right time, said Samantha Heller, a nutritionist at New York University Langone Medical Center who wasn’t involved in the guidelines.

"The 'eating several small meals' during the day advice that we commonly hear is unrealistic for most people because the 'small' meals often turn into meal-sized meals and weight gain is inevitable," Heller said by email.

"Another booby trap for overeating is after dinner," Heller added. "Night time eating is quite common and an easy way to add unnecessary calories and pack on the pounds over time because people snack when in front of TV, computer and tablet screens."

Heller’s advice: "Once dinner is finished, the kitchen should be closed. If your schedule is crazy and you cannot get to dinner until later in the evening, then eat light at night."

SOURCE: bit.ly/2jznKZG Circulation, online January 30, 2017.

news.abs-cbn.com

KFC to offer all-you-can-eat breakfast

MANILA – Two years after setting up real beds in their restaurants for breakfast, KFC Philippines is at it again as it starts serving morning meals buffet-style this coming weekend.

The fast food chain announced that its breakfast buffet will be available in eight participating stores in the Philippines from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on all weekends of July.

It encouraged customers to reserve early for the buffet – which includes chocolate chip pancakes, longganisa, tocino, chicken fillet with steak sauce, egg, garlic rice and arroz caldo, among others – as seats are limited.

The offer is priced at P199 per person exclusive of drinks, and P99 for children between three to four feet in height. Shorter kids get to eat for free.

The Philippine franchise of KFC has been known for its unique offerings, with some of them making it to US publications and TV shows.

One of these is the Cheese Top Burger – a chicken sandwich with melted cheese placed on top of the bun – which had its own spoof on the US late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Just recently, the fast food chain gained mixed reactions from netizens in the Philippines after offering fried chicken coated with the popular Filipino snack Clover Chips.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

McDonald's to give out free McMuffins on March 17

MANILA – More than 300 branches of McDonald’s in the Philippines will give out free McMuffins on Monday next week to mark the second National Breakfast Day in the country.

Each branch will give away 1,000 free McMuffins – or a total of around 320,000 – to customers on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 6 a.m. on March 17. These will be available for dine-in, take-out or drive-thru.

The event will coincide with similar promos in McDonald’s branches in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

“We were so encouraged by our customers’ resounding response in the region last year, we are bringing back National Breakfast Day to remind people about waking up to better mornings with breakfast,” said Andrew Hipsley, chief brand officer of McDonald’s for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

“Breakfast is a significant business for McDonald’s. And we know the convenience of a hot McMuffin on-the-go makes breakfast so much accessible for people who are often caught up in the morning rush,” Hipsley added.

The McMuffin comes in egg and sausage variants. Here in the Philippines, McDonald’s Philippines also serves local items such as the ham pan de sal and longganisa with rice.

The first National Breakfast Day was held in the country on March 18, 2013.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LOOK: Spam offers tocino variant

MANILA – Did you know that the precooked meat brand Spam has a variant that is inspired by a Filipino breakfast dish?

Spam is currently offering a “limited edition” Tocino variant at $3 each, according to its website. The label shows the popular meat product with a glaze similar to tocino, a sweet pork dish usually served for breakfast in Filipino homes.



Nutrition facts of Spam Tocino show that it has less sodium (590 mg per 2-oz serving) compared to its original variant (790 mg), although it has one gram of sugar per serving.

Some netizens have been talking about Spam Tocino on Twitter after the restaurant smartphone app Looloo shared the trivia via the microblogging site.

Other variants of Spam include Less Sodium, Black Pepper, Teriyaki, Chorizo, With Cheese, Hickory Smoke, Jalapeño, With Bacon and Hot and Spicy.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

No more genetically modified ingredients in Cheerios

General Mills Inc said it has stopped using genetically modified ingredients in the popular breakfast cereal Cheerios as the U.S. branded foods manufacturer hopes the move will firm up customer loyalty in the face of growing opposition to such additives.

Many activists and critics have cited studies showing that genetically modified (GM) crops are not safe for people and animals who consume them.

Some activist groups opposing GM food also say the crops create environmental problems by encouraging more use of certain agro chemicals, and consumers should have the right to know what they are buying.

However, General Mills, which also makes Betty Crocker dessert mixes and Yoplait yoghurt, said in a company blog post on Thursday that its decision on ingredients was not driven by safety concerns or pressure from critics.

"It's not about safety. Biotech seeds, also known as genetically modified seeds, have been approved by global food safety agencies and widely used by farmers in global food crops for almost 20 years," the General Mills blog said.

The Minneapolis-based company said it has begun using non-GM cornstarch and non-GM sugar in Cheerios, adding that oats, the primary ingredient, is a crop that is not grown from genetically modified seeds.

The company hopes that "consumers may embrace" its decision to move away from GM ingredients.

In November, a Washington state ballot measure that would have required labeling of foods containing GM crops did not win wide approval.

A consortium including General Mills, Nestle USA, PepsiCo , Monsanto, DuPont and other corporate giants, were key contributors to the roughly $22 million raised to campaign against the bill.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

McDonald's to give out free McMuffins

MANILA -- Taking its cue from the teddy bears and Lego blocks lining up the streets from its “Hooray for Today” ad, McDonald’s Philippines intends to wake up its loyal customers with happy thoughts the whole day by celebrating National Breakfast Day next week.

McDonald’s will give away 1,000 McMuffins per branch via its first and biggest breakfast activation to date on Monday, on March 18, between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., in each of the 300 participating branches nationwide whether on dine-in, take-out or drive-through.

The promotion will coincide with similar events - on different time zones - in 5,000 McDonald’s restaurants in Asia, Middle East and South Africa, McDonald's Philippines press communications manager Adi Timbol said.

“McDonald’s realizes the importance of breakfast and the role it plays in the lives of our customers – seen with our ‘Hooray for Today’ campaign. With National Breakfast Day, we are taking ‘Hooray for Today’ to a new level by giving Filipinos an opportunity to taste just how good breakfast at McDonald’s really is,” McDonald's Philippines president and chief executive Kenneth Yang said.

Timbol said the company needs to up the ante in providing affordable but delicious breakfast to Filipinos amid the growing competition and continuous reminders from health organizations not to skip the most important meal of the day.

She said the breakfast segment is now also being cornered by mom and pop stores.

“There’s a big landscape for breakfast. And [at McDonald’s], we offer value for the money…We’re very competitive, it’s a growing segment in informal eat out section,” she said.

Asked if this will already become an annual event, Timbol confidently said, “Yes.”

She said the company is choosing McMuffin, in particular, because it is "iconic. It’s a staple well-loved worldwide.”

McDonald’s has two McMuffin variants, the egg and sausage. Timbol revealed that the sausage variant will also be offered to Mindanao branches, while keeping in mind the various needs of customers there.

Carol Bernardo, McDonald’s senior manager for quality assurance, said of the company’s raw materials are halal-certified.



Kitchen tour

 For the first time, the company also allowed inside journalists and bloggers inside their kitchen.

From its kitchen utensils to mops, all are color-coded to contain any food safety concerns. Table tops and food trays are also heated at a certain temperature to keep the freshness of the raw materials.

Its outside chillers are at a low of 34 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, while its inside chillers are at a low of negative 18 to negative 23 degrees Celsius.

“We trace from where every raw material comes from, such as the plot of the lettuce, the farm, supplier, etc,” Bernardo said.

Recalling the typhoon that hampered operations when floods sunk its equipment at a Cainta plant, she said they had to source products from abroad in order not to halt operations or constrain safety procedures.

“[We adhere to] clean as you go, wala dapat iniiwan na hindi malinis,” Bernardo said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com