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It’s said breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but that’s not always true.

Bacon, pancakes, pastries and sugary cereals are popular breakfasts, but they can ruin your heart health. When breakfast is loaded with high-saturated fat, foods high in trans fat and unhealthy carbohydrates you’re not getting the benefits breakfast offers.

A healthy breakfast, however, can reduce your risk for heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes and heart failure. According to a collection of small studies, eating breakfast reduces rises in blood sugar and insulin. By controlling your blood sugar and insulin you reduce levels of bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

Related: 7 Reasons to Eat a Heart Healthy Diet

Breakfast also helps curb your appetite the rest of the day making it easier to eat less, improves concentration and strength and endurance to participate in physical activities.

It’s not just eating breakfast though that helps, it matters what you eat.

So what can you eat so you are getting a heart healthy breakfast each day?

Follow these tips to eat a heart healthy breakfast so you can start improving your heart’s health and overall health.

Tips for Eating a Heart Healthy Breakfast

Give Yourself Enough Time – If you don’t typical have a habit of eating breakfast, begin planning to eat breakfast and make sure you’re giving yourself enough time. Plan to eat breakfast by getting up so you have enough time to prepare a healthy breakfast. A key reason people skip breakfast is not having enough time in the morning. And even if people are eating breakfast in a rush, most are eating something high in sugar and high in fat.

Shop for Healthy Breakfast Foods – When you’re at the grocery store, remember to buy healthy foods you can eat for breakfast. If you’re not shopping for healthy breakfast foods, you’ll struggle to find something healthy to eat in the morning.

Whole Grain, Fruit and Healthy Protein – Foods like oatmeal, whole-grain breads, berries, bananas, yogurt, eggs and other whole grains, fruit and healthy protein serve as the best options for breakfast.

RECOMMENDED: Find Out How L-arginine Plus can Help Improve Your Heart Health

Replace a Bad Breakfast with a Heart Healthy Breakfast

Instead of Pancakes, Eat Whole-Grain Pancake or Waffle with Fresh Fruit.
Try an Egg White Omelet or Scrambled Eggs instead of Fried Eggs.
Instead of Bacon or Sausage, Eat Lean Ham or Canadian Bacon.
Instead of a Croissant, Pastry, or Muffin, Eat a Whole Wheat Bagel with Low-Fat Cream Cheese.

Resources:

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/DiningOut/Tips-for-Eating-Breakfast_UCM_308360_Article.jsp#.VjEhvq6rTUI

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/a-healthy-breakfast-may-protect-against-heart-disease

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20676415_last,00.html

http://www.jhsph.edu/offices-and-services/student-affairs/_documents/Breakfast