A Better Breakfast

In 1895, Dr. John Kellogg and his younger brother, Will, created a new food that was intended to relieve stomach pain, while reducing the desire to masturbate.

At the time, Dr. Kellogg was the director at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan which was the wellness spa in pre-antibiotic 19th century America. His patients traveled from around the US to try therapeutics like clean air, healthy food, exercise, and hydrotherapy. If I was born in 1887 instead of 1987 I would’ve gone for sure, just to do some gymnastics and calisthenics with Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

Kellogg noticed that many of the patients visiting the sanitarium had numerous digestive complaints, collectively referred to at the time as “dyspepsia.” It’s a similar picture to what I often see with patients today: stomach pain, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and/or heartburn.

Dr. Kellogg was aware that his patients associated their symptoms with their diet, but without research on possible foods to eliminate, he chose to villainize fat and start an un-health trend that still lurks in diet advice today, despite evidence that dietary fat doesn’t cause heart disease. The Kellogg bros took a shot at creating a breakfast alternative that, in their eyes, was easier to digest because it was grain-based and fat-free. Kellogg’s cereal was made of corn, shaped like flakes, and named appropriately.

Where the story gets strange, as many early religious interpretations do, is that Kellogg was trying to create a food that was plain, bland-tasting, free of meat, and, therefore, not stimulating. As a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church, Kellogg despised stimulating foods. He believed that rich foods, along with tea, coffee, and alcohol created an urge to masturbate.

Corn Flakes were the solution, Kellogg argued, and marketed as “Good for you no matter how much you eat!”

My hope is that by the end of this article you will understand why this simply isn’t true, even if you have dyspepsia, even if you’re addicted to masturbation.

A (brief) history of breakfast

Let’s first clear the air with Kellogg’s masturbation misconception. Caffeine is the only stimulant on his suspect list. It activates the central nervous system and is therefore stimulating. Food, on the other hand, does not have that effect. Whether or not any of this causes an urge to masturbate is unlikely and irrelevant. Why Kellogg dragged breakfast into the equation is a mystery other than the fact that testosterone peaks at 8am, hence morning erections and…whatever follows.

OK, back to food.

Marketing to consumers began during the Industrial Revolution, sparking confusion around what to eat. Of all meals, breakfast was (and still is) targeted most by brands trying to make a profit by providing options that are supposedly more convenient, cheaper, and healthier.

The American breakfast transformation was driven further by 19th century doctors encouraging health while slyly promoting their agendas of clean living, masculinity, and even sexuality.

“What a man eats when he’s 25 is more than likely to influence what he earns when he’s fifty!” claimed an early ad for Post cereal.

Americans were suddenly doubting the quality of their meals, with a new concern of whether their diet was nutritious enough.

In the late 1800s, using food as medicine was an exciting new concept, but available options were lacking convenience. Granola was around, for example, but it was so dense that it required overnight soaking to avoid breaking your teeth. Kellogg was the first to capitalize on the growing industry of processed food.

When Kellogg introduced Corn Flakes, everyone knew what corn was. It was one of just two types of foods—plants and animals. But what is baked corn meal soaked in milk? It must be healthy if a doctor is recommending it, right?

I was recently talking with my wife’s uncle, Larry, about how his grandparents didn’t question the health properties of their diet. They simply ate the eggs from their chickens and the veggies they grew and canned. Wheat flour was another staple because it was readily available in Montana, as was beef, venison, and elk. Their diet was unremarkable—and healthy.

Larry’s grandparents, and my great-grandparents, missed the evolution of breakfast in America that turned the question of “What’s for breakfast?” into a debate. In just two generations, a meal as simple as eggs and bacon was mutated into Lucky Charms, bagels, and Toaster Strudels. (All foods, I’ll admit, I’ve enjoyed in the past; all foods high in carbs and low in nutrients.)

Breakfast should be simple

You wake up, go to the bathroom, drink some coffee, hopefully some water, and then eat food when you’re hungry.

But what food?

Instead of listing a bunch of different foods as “good” or “bad” I’m going to share the unsexy formula that I recommend for all meals.

Eat more of these: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, eggs, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds

Eat less of these: processed foods

When questioning if a food is healthy, consider how far away it is from its natural state. Here are three examples of how healthy foods are processed into less healthy foods.

Raw almonds —> Roasted almonds with salt —> almond flour —> almond flour pancakes

Oat groats —> Instant oats —> Instant oats with 13g of added sugar and skim milk powder

Corn —> Corn meal —> Corn flakes covered in sugar and soaked in cow’s milk (Frosted Flakes)

For a healthy breakfast, aim to eat more almonds and less pancakes. More oatmeal and less sugar-sweetened instant oats.

What makes a breakfast unhealthy?

Maybe you’re thinking cool, that makes sense, but who has an hour to make breakfast? At the very least, cereal is convenient—it takes 10 seconds to make.

As a reminder, I’m focusing on breakfast because the thing you eat that breaks your fast will dictate your energy for the day. I’m not suggesting you put as much time into making breakfast as you do with dinner, but I do think you will feel better overall if you eat a balanced meal. Yes, this will take more than 10 seconds to make, but the increased energy will lead to more productivity, so overall it should be a net positive.

What you choose for breakfast will also determine if you spend the afternoon craving carbs. Have you noticed a strong desire for chips, chocolate, cookies, bread, French fries, or another bowl of cereal between 11am and 3pm? Sure, you could just be bored or tired, but it's also likely that your blood sugar is dropping after a carb-rich breakfast or lunch. This is a sign your body is craving more sugar to sustain. This vicious cycle can be avoided if your breakfast is low-carb, and high protein with some healthy fats.

The other reason why I wanted to focus on breakfast is because there are more unhealthy options than any other meal. I mean, there’s a whole aisle at the grocery store dedicated to cereal. And when I say that Corn Flakes are unhealthy, I’m mostly referring to its impact on your blood sugar (apart from being so nutrient-depleted that 8 vitamins and minerals need to be added to the ingredient mix).

In his book, Food: What the Heck Should I Eat, Dr. Mark Hyman calls cereal a “sugar-delivery system.” The processed grains found in Corn Flakes cause a sudden spike in glucose which leads to a spike of insulin to manage all the sugar. This is problematic because chronic, high insulin levels are associated with heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Starting the day with a meal that is essentially a dessert will set the foundation for sugar and carb cravings that lasts all day. This up-and-down cycle of blood glucose drains your energy, leading to a desire for an early lunch or a nap, or even mood swings (aka hangry).

All this suggests that Corn Flakes are actually anti-nutritious–not only do they waste an opportunity for a healthy meal, but in excess they can be harmful for your health.

Takeaway

The paradox of choice at the breakfast table is a modern dilemma, but the answer is simple: eat like your great-grandparents.

Goal #1: Eat a variety of nutrient-dense, whole foods

Goal #2: Eat less foods that are high-glycemic, and nutrient-poor

In his book Animal, Vegetable, Junk, food journalist Mark Bittman summarizes the current state of nutrition in America.

“By definition, food provides nourishment, and nourishment promotes health. And yet, in our perverse reality, so much of what we eat is promoting health’s opposite. Ultra-processed foods, more akin to poison than actual food, are making us sick as surely as if we were vitamin deficient.”

Today, Corn Flakes are marketed as “A low fat, healthy cereal that's sure to please both kids and adults.” It’s this type of marketing deception that makes it a challenge to find healthy foods in the grocery store. Low-fat doesn’t mean it’s a healthy food because dietary fat doesn’t lead to weight gain, processed carbohydrates do.

The solution, therefore, is to shop on outer isles of the grocery store where the actual food items are. Eggs, bacon, onions, spinach—these are whole foods that promote health and energy, especially as the first meal of the day. Save the Corn Flakes for your next race when you’re prioritizing fuel today over health tomorrow.