Is Pizza Really More Nutritious Than Your Breakfast Go-To?
If you're the kind of person that enjoys having leftovers for breakfast from time to time, and if those leftovers also happen to be pizza, we've got some good news for you. While your mother might have a problem with a stone-cold slice of pizza as your first meal of the day, there are nutritionists who don't feel the same way – especially when they stack that slice against other breakfast options on offer.
"You may be surprised to find out that an average slice of pizza and a bowl of cereal with whole milk contain nearly the same amount of calories," registered dietitian Chelsey Amer says. "However, pizza packs a much larger protein punch, which will keep you full and boost satiety throughout the morning" (via The Daily Meal).
Before you ring your favorite pizza chain for takeout, Amer says there is a caveat – that you can't really call pizza a healthy choice. But if you were to compare apples to apples, pizza would be favorable just because it's far less sugary, and enjoying a slice will not give you a sugar crash the way cereal would, she says.
Breakfasts with a combination of protein, fiber, and good fat are the way to go
Other nutritionists say that the choice isn't exactly binary, and you shouldn't really be entertaining just two options: pizza or sugary cereals for breakfast. "Even a second helping of dinner set aside from the previous night can make a healthy breakfast if it's chock full of veggies and balanced — for example, a generous portion of veggies sauteed in EVOO with herbs tossed with a lean protein, or chicken breast or lentils with a small scoop of quinoa," says Health's nutrition editor Cynthia Sass.
While the importance of breakfast has become a topic that people now debate over, there is one thing experts can agree on – and that's the kind of food that you should be consuming for your first meal of the day. Experts say you should be looking at cutting back on sugar and adding protein, fiber, and a bit of good fat – all of which will keep you feeling full for longer (via Eat This, Not That!). And yes, that conceivably could sound like pizza to us.