Do you regularly feel tired at the end of the morning? What if the origin of this fatigue was linked to your breakfast? We explain why the notorious 11 a.m. energy crash may be caused by the composition of your breakfast.
An overly sweet breakfast can make you feel tired at 11 a.m.
The late-morning slump could be caused by eating too much sugar at breakfast. Interviewed for La Dépêche newspaper, dietician Muriel Bonnefond explains that consuming an excessively sweet breakfast can have consequences for our energy levels, leading to the notorious 11 a.m. energy crash.
In fact, when the body consumes too much sugar, it triggers a surge in insulin. Insulin is a hormone naturally produced by the pancreas, responsible for absorbing excess blood sugar and regulating blood sugar levels.
The result? The insulin peak drops just as quickly, causing fatigue. Hence the « coup de barre » which generally occurs around 11 a.m.
Moreover, scientists have already demonstrated how insulin can promote the entry of tryptophan (an amino acid) into the brain, leading to increased secretion of serotonin, the hormone responsible for sleepiness and relaxation. In other words, it’s a vicious circle!
How can you avoid a late-morning slump by adapting your breakfast?
So you see, to avoid a late-morning bout of fatigue, you need to rethink the composition of your breakfast to avoid aninsulin spike. How can you do this?
By limiting the amount of sugar in your breakfast. To do this, you need to learn how to read labels to reduce sugar intake and avoid hidden sugars.
You can, for example, replace the baguette with wholemeal bread. As for cereals, Muriel Bonnefond recommends « choosing those that provide less than 400 Kcal per 100 g and have a reduced sugar content, close to 10 g per 100 g ».
Another tip for avoiding fatigue is to include proteins and healthy fats in your breakfast. The latter help to reduce the passage of sugar into the bloodstream and thus avoid an insulin spike.
The dietician recommends » putting a little butter on your toast, or eating salty proteins: an egg, a slice of ham or 30g of cheese, cottage cheese or Skyr (low-fat, high-protein) » .