🍳 Breakfast

Breakfast is the first meal after the overnight break. The English word breakfast means “to break the fast”, and it appeared in written English around the 15th century. In many countries breakfast is most closely tied to milk: it is drunk with coffee, poured over cereal and porridge, and eaten with yogurt, cheese and butter.

Coffee and tea came later to the European breakfast: according to Wikipedia, caffeinated drinks appeared in Europe in the 16th century, and in Britain tea, chocolate and coffee have been known since the mid-1600s. In France the croissant, which probably comes from Vienna in 1683, had become a normal part of breakfast by 1875. In Italy cappuccino is usually drunk in the morning, often with a pastry, and until 11 o’clock. And in some parts of Africa traditional food includes milk, sour milk and whey.

Milk adds calcium to breakfast. According to USDA, 100 g of whole milk has 113 mg of calcium, while 100 g of plain corn flakes has only 4 mg, so in a bowl of cereal with milk the calcium comes almost entirely from the milk.

Breakfast with or without milk? In many countries breakfast is most closely tied to milk: it is drunk with coffee, poured over cereal and porridge, and eaten with yogurt, cheese and butter, while in parts of Africa traditional food includes milk, sour milk and whey. Dairy adds protein and calcium: 113 mg per 100 g of whole milk against 4 mg in plain corn flakes. Breakfast or skipping it? The BMJ analysis of 13 trials found no proven weight-loss benefit, so it comes down to appetite and ingredients.

For a dairy breakfast, look at the labels of plain milk and yogurt in the chilled dairy aisle, and at breakfast cereals, oats or porridge on the cereal shelf. Compare the calcium line in the nutrition table: plain corn flakes have only 4 mg per 100 g, so the milk poured over them supplies the calcium. A supermarket also stocks butter and cheese for the morning table, and a bakery or café sells the croissant and cappuccino.

Why it matters to you. Breakfast is a habit, not a proven way to lose weight: in an analysis of 13 randomized trials (BMJ, 2019), people who ate breakfast took in on average 260 kcal a day more and were 0.44 kg heavier, although the authors consider the quality of the studies mostly low. So choose breakfast by appetite and ingredients, and add dairy when you want protein and calcium.