🥯🍳The most important meal of the day

Good morning. I think I’ve underrated August. Maybe that’s because I traditionally don’t like the heat, and it just turned cooler here in RVA. Maybe because it feels like summer’s sorta but not really over and no one knows quite what to do for the next few weeks. Maybe because there are no holidays.

If summer is blue and fall is yellow, August is green. The overlapping Venn Diagram of hot days but surprisingly cooling nights, summer break ending and school beginning, harvesting gardens and planning for the fall crops.

Tomorrow will be my mom’s first “heavenly birthday,” as she calls them. So perhaps I’m feeling a bit sentimental, but I’ve sort of been dreading this August for 10 months now. Now that it’s here, I’m ready to embrace it with loving arms, just like mom did every time I came home.

There’s something romantic—magical, even—about the latter part of summer. I know there are still sweltering dog days ahead, but let them slow you down. Take a good, long pause and breathe in the August air. We’ll be in sweaters sipping cider before you know it. 🍂 

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Most important meal of the day?

I recently went to a conference hosted by a hospital system in Boston. I was told they would provide breakfast, so I didn’t have anything beforehand besides coffee. When I arrive, all I see is trays of bagels and muffins, alongside a small bowl of tasteless-looking cafeteria fruits. Oh, and juices and coffee. No protein, just carbs on carbs on carbs.

At a hospital. Where the majority of patients they treat are suffering or dying from cardiovascular, metabolic, or neurodegenerative diseases or cancer. Know what these “Four Horsemen” killers have in common? They are driven largely by overconsumption of sugar, insulin dysregulation, and a state of chronic inflammation. Under-muscled and over-fat patients suffering from the effects of decades of a diet high in sugar, unhealthy fats, and ultra-processed foods and deficient in protein, fiber, and the myriad nutrients that fruits and vegetables have to offer.

We’ve been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What that doesn’t mean is eating anything for breakfast—so long as you eat—is good. What it should mean is that, since we’ve been fasting for 10, 12, 14 hours by breakfast time, our bodies need maximum nourishment alongside a hearty dose of protein to kickstart anabolism (muscle-building) and stop the catabolism (muscle breakdown) that’s been happening through the night.

If we start our day with a boatload of carbs and very little protein, that anabolic kickstart doesn’t happen. What we think of as a typical “breakfast” nowadays is typically high-carb, low-protein. We’re eating 40, 70, 100g of carbs and maybe 10g of protein, often as an afterthought (even one egg has just 6g of protein).

We need to flip that ratio. Eating 30, 40, 50g of protein at breakfast can absolutely transform your day and your health.

Whenever your first meal of the day is, whether that’s 6am or 11am, make sure it’s high in protein and not just all sugar.

Instead of being hungry again two hours after having a bagel or muffin and orange juice, you’re full for the next 4–5 hours if you have lots of protein for breakfast. Instead of staying in a state of muscle breakdown, your body can build the muscles that you’ve hopefully been exercising.

If you do have a big dose of carbs for breakfast, it’s best to “clothe” your carbs in protein, fiber, and fats. This significantly blunts the negative effects of a mega-dose of sugar in the morning.

Blame it on the juice™️ 

If I could do away with any food or drink in the world for the sake of our health, it would probably be juice.

Not soda, not chocolate, not pizza, not ice cream. Fruit juices.

Most of us “know” that soda isn’t really healthy for us. Most people know that some high-sugar, high-calorie, highly processed, nutrient-deficient foods and drinks should be consumed in moderation if we want to build healthy bodies.

But the juice industry has us duped! You can’t hear “part of a healthy breakfast!” without picturing a glass of orange juice. We think of juices as healthy and fruits, when they’re really just as sugary as some sodas and basically just fruits with almost all the good parts stripped, and extra sugar added in.

• A serving of one of the most popular orange juices has 23g of added sugar per 8 ounces. (We rarely drink only 8 ounces of anything anymore). So twelve ounces of OJ has 34.5g of added sugar. A 12 oz. can of Coke has 39g of sugar. Not much difference.

Yes, juices do come with some other vitamins and nutrients that sodas don’t have. But so do whole fruits, and without the crazy amounts of sugar that’s unaccompanied by any fiber. Again, we know we probably shouldn’t be drinking sodas for breakfast. But in terms of their effects on our bodies, juices really aren’t that much better.

One of the most troubling things to me is the amount of juice we give children. That’s why I would remove juices above all other foods if possible. Modern marketing has told us that fruit juices are great for kids and the perfect childhood drink. And that’s on the “healthier” side of fruit juices, not to mention the Kool-Aids and Capri Suns of the supermarket.

All we’re really doing when we give kids juice is pumping a young, small, developing body with a massive load of sugar. The result? Sugar-addicted, insulin-resistant, obese children who, to no fault of their own, develop diseases and health complications decades before they would’ve even considered them, compared to just a few generations prior.

• Disclaimer: I am not a parent and certainly not judging the choices of anyone who is. I know sometimes you gotta do what it takes to make it through the day and keep your kid happy. Zero judgment from yours truly, and thank you for your service in raising our next generation. 🫡 

But sugar is as addictive as crack. A liberal recommendation of no more than 50g of sugar per day is in place for adults. But just a couple cups of juice for a child who weighs a third of what we do, and they’re already approaching or exceeding the limit for a full-grown adult. We have to stop letting our kids guzzle down sugar. For 99.999% of human history, children did not consume sugar in such concentrated, palatable, unaccompanied amounts.

What are we supposed to have for breakfast?!

What do we give diabetics when they are hypoglycemic and about to enter a medical emergency if they don’t receive a quick, major spike in blood sugar? Orange juice. That in itself should tell us all we need to know about how our bodies handle juices.

Full fruits have so many more nutrients than extracted and sweetened juices. Their fiber content greatly slows down digestion and blunts any spike in blood sugar. It’s these repeated blood sugar spikes, unhinged and multiple times a day over years, that lead to metabolic diseases and insulin resistance. Leveling out the spikes into more smooth, gentle waves is so much better on our bodies and organs. You are laying the groundwork now for the diseases you will or will not have several decades from now.

Protein-rich breakfasts and the real most important meal of the day. You’re a grown-up and can make your own rules! You can have meat or fish for breakfast. Utilize eggs, greek yogurt, dairy, cheeses, beans, and all sorts of meats in your first meal of the day, whenever it is. Studies have consistently shown that this will make you feel fuller for longer and prevent excess cravings and overeating later in the day.

Flip your breakfast ratio. Mostly protein. Lots of real, whole fruits and veggies. Some natural carbs. Make pastries the exception, not the rule, for breakfast treats. Stop drinking juices on a regular basis. And please stop giving juices to your kids uninhibitedly. Instead, make smoothies with real fruits, eat whole fruits, or opt for low- or no-sugar juices.

We all love and deserve sweet treats now and then. Just think twice about doing it frequently, and “clothe” them in proteins and fiber when possible. 👕 

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Knowledge is power. Learn how much sugar is in the juices and other beverages you drink on a regular basis.

Level 2: Take stock of your first meals of the day. How can you increase the protein and decrease the processed carbs if they’re excessive?

Level 3: Eat a minimum of 30g of protein for every first meal, and only drink high-sugar bevs on rare occasions, and when “clothed” with protein and fiber.

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✍️ Drew's Picks:

• Watch: “What to get for a cancer patient.” A pertinent video from a guy you may recognize, who’s experiencing it firsthand. Hint: Don’t ask what you can do; ask details about what you already know they like or need, then deliver it. But simple (scheduled) quality time is often a great idea.

• Friendly reminder: Book your holiday travel sooner rather than later! As the air cools and we plan for the coming months, prices will rise! You’re welcome 🛫 

• Watch: The CrossFit Games are underway now through the weekend! Watch the “fittest on earth” compete and catch some inspiration.

Check out the moon tonight. Last night was a super moon, but it’ll still be full and pretty tonight. I hear it’s good luck if you share this newsletter with three friends and get them to subscribe on the day after a super moon! 🌝 

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).