Full English Breakfast: How Healthy Is It? - HealthKart (2024)

The full english breakfast is one of the iconic classic meals but is it a healthy all-in-one-plate kind of meal or a bit of a health hazard? On the surface, the British breakfast is a mix of the good with the not-so-good ingredients but to help you decide, we’re going to take a little deeper dive into this breakfast.

Is Full English Breakfast Good for Weight Loss?

Research suggests that consuming an English breakfast may be more beneficial for weight loss than a breakfast high in carbohydrates such as cereal or fresh fruit. This is down to the fact that a full English breakfast is higher in protein and will therefore leave you less likely to snack on other foods until lunchtime.

In one experiment, participants were given breakfasts with the same calorie intake and equal distribution of fat and fibre. But while the other half of the group received a glass of water, the other half of the group received a breakfast that included 30-39g of protein. The findings indicated that people who ate a lot of protein at breakfast felt fuller and less hungry throughout the day and they also ate less at lunchtime.

The choices you make will ultimately affect the health benefits of a traditional English breakfast. For instance, picking a sausage with a lot of meat instead of one with a lot of fat will be better. The same rule applies to bacon – choose a leaner slice over one that has a lot of fat.

Make your meal more filling by including spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Instead of fried bread, choose low GI carbohydrates that will give you long-lasting energy like whole-grain pitas or wraps.

English Breakfast Items – What can be Included?

A full English breakfast contains four basic foods – meat, egg, bread, and vegetables. You’ll see these on your plate in the shape of a sausage, bacon, black pudding (blood sausage), fried or scrambled egg, toast or fried bread, fried mushrooms, and grilled tomatoes. Looking at these English breakfast items from a nutritionist’s perspective, are they a thumbs up or thumbs down?

Let’s decide with a nutritional breakdown of these English breakfast items:

1. Sausage, Bacon & Other Meats: Protein, Calories, Vitamins, Total Fats, Cholesterol
2. Eggs: Vitamins, minerals, protein Cholesterol, Fats
3. Bread: Carbohydrates, Minerals, Sugars
4. Mushrooms: Fibre, Vitamins, Minerals
5. Baked Beans: Fibre, Minerals, Vitamins
6. Tomatoes: Vitamins, Fibre, Minerals

Each component of the English breakfast has some positive attributes – which means you can eat them without guilt.

How is the Traditional English Breakfast Healthy?

You could argue that the British breakfast has withstood a barrage of abuse and criticism from dieticians and health experts over the last ten to fifteen years. However, many components of it seem to be making it a healthier choice:

1. Baked Beans

Baked beans can help alleviate arthritis and the symptoms of gout thanks to their high levels of folic acid, magnesium, iron, zinc, and potassium.

2. Tomatoes

Thanks to their key nutrient, lycopene, tomatoes have been found to reduce the chances of a stroke by 55 percent, according to the journal, Neurology.

3. Bacon

This well-liked component of the traditional English breakfast can support weight loss. Bacon has a lot of coenzyme Q1, a hormone that speeds up metabolism when combined with exercise, according to researchers at Kyoto University.

Six rashers can actually double the rate at which fat is burned and one slice of bacon has about 10 g of protein, which keeps the body fueled for intense physical activity.

4. Sausages

Yes, they do have some fat in them but not all of it is unhealthy. Bacon and sausages contain more than 40% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of niacin, a vitamin crucial for healthy eyes, skin, and hair, according to researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Centre.

5. Tea

The cup of English breakfast tea that washes down the whole meal is also packed with benefits. Researchers at the University of São Paulo found that three cups of English breakfast tea boosts adrenaline by 10 percent, which in turn helps to build muscle more easily.

Conclusion

As far as we can say, having a full English breakfast is a great & healthy way to start your day every morning on a nutritious note. So, if you are someone looking to improve your diet with a protein-rich meal, having an English breakfast might be just the thing you need!