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Recipe

Unsweetened breakfast options

Fruit juice, flavoured yoghurt, cornflakes, sweetened oats and most breakfast cereal are where a surprising share of the day’s sugar goes. These are the swaps.

Time
15 minutes
Serves
2
Protein
Fibre

Ingredients

  • Plain curd, not flavoured
  • Rolled oats, not instant or flavoured
  • Whole fruit, not juice
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Besan or moong dal for chilla
  • Cinnamon, for sweetness without sugar

Method

Step 1

Instead of flavoured yoghurt: plain curd with chopped fruit and a spoon of seeds. Flavoured yoghurt can carry as much sugar as a dessert.

Step 2

Instead of juice: whole fruit. The fibre changes how the fructose is handled by the liver entirely.

Step 3

Instead of sweetened oats: savoury oats chilla, or plain oats with cinnamon and nuts.

Step 4

Instead of cereal: besan or moong dal chilla, which takes the same fifteen minutes.

Step 5

Use cinnamon where you would use sugar. It does not replace it, but it helps.

Liver enzymes often respond quickly to removing sweetened drinks. It is one of the more rewarding changes to make.

Why it works

Fructose and the liverFructose is processed almost entirely by the liver. Juice delivers it without the fibre that slows it down.
Whole fruit is fineThis is not an argument against fruit. It is an argument against juice, which is a different thing.
Breakfast sets the dayA sweet breakfast produces a mid-morning crash, which produces the next sweet thing.

Nutrition, per serving

Approximate values. Actual figures vary with portion and ingredients.
EnergyProteinCarbohydrateFatFibre
varies

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Who this recipe is for

This recipe is used in our plans for the conditions below. Each page sets out the symptoms, the tests worth having and how the condition is treated.

Fatty liver Diabetes Weight gain & obesity Cholesterol Acne

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This recipe is general nutrition information. It is not a treatment for any condition and it does not replace advice from your doctor. Never change prescribed medication on the basis of a dietary change.

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