Try savory breakfasts instead of sweet ones and see the difference
The morning routine of most people in the Czech Republic looks similar: a quick piece of toast with jam, muesli with milk, yogurt with fruit, or a sweet cereal. A sweet breakfast feels natural – it's quick, tasty, and seemingly gives the body energy to kick-start the day. But this energy is often deceptive. It's worth considering why so many people feel tired and hungry just two hours after breakfast, despite having eaten. The answer may lie in exactly what they put on their plate in the morning.
In recent years, a growing number of nutrition experts and scientists have come to believe that savoury breakfasts can be significantly more beneficial for energy, concentration, and overall health than sweet ones. This isn't some fashionable trend or a diet from the cover of a lifestyle magazine. It's about physiology – about how the body actually functions and how it responds to different types of nutrients right after waking up.
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Why a sweet breakfast isn't as good an idea as it seems
When a person eats sweet pastry, jam, or sugary cereal in the morning, blood sugar levels rise quickly. The body responds by releasing insulin, which takes care of processing the glucose. The problem is that this mechanism works like a seesaw – what goes up quickly comes down quickly. After the initial surge of energy, a so-called glycaemic dip follows, which manifests as fatigue, irritability, inability to concentrate, and returning hunger. That's precisely why so many people reach for a biscuit, chocolate, or another coffee mid-morning – not because they're lazy or lack willpower, but because their body is going through a biochemical carousel caused by an unsuitable breakfast.
Sweet foods with a high glycaemic index – such as white bread, jams, fruit yogurts with added sugar, or industrially processed cereals – cause exactly this effect. Research published in the scientific journal The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition repeatedly shows that foods with a low glycaemic index ensure more stable energy levels throughout the morning and reduce cravings for sweets during the day.
It should be noted that not every sweet breakfast is automatically bad. Fruit contains natural sugars complemented by fibre, which slows glucose absorption. Porridge without added sugar has a relatively low glycaemic index and keeps you full for longer. The problem arises when breakfast consists mainly of fast sugars without sufficient amounts of protein, fats, and fibre.
Take Markéta, a thirty-year-old graphic designer from Brno, who for years started her day with a croissant and a large white coffee. Every day around ten o'clock, fatigue would set in, along with an inability to concentrate on work and an irresistible craving for something sweet. After switching, on the recommendation of a nutritionist, to breakfasts consisting of eggs, avocado, and wholegrain bread, she described the change as fundamental: "I stopped thinking about food every two hours and I'm finally able to work with focus right through to lunch."
What savoury breakfasts actually do to your energy and body
Savoury breakfasts – understood in this context as meals rich in protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates, not necessarily heavily salted foods – offer the body a completely different biochemical foundation for starting the day. Protein is key: it slows gastric emptying, stabilises blood sugar levels, and provides a long-lasting feeling of satiety. Amino acids from protein are also essential for the production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, which directly influence mood, motivation, and the ability to concentrate.
Healthy fats – whether from eggs, avocado, nuts, or quality olive oil – are an important source of energy that is released slowly and steadily. Unlike simple sugars, they don't cause sharp insulin spikes, and the body can use them efficiently throughout the morning. The brain, which makes up approximately 2% of body weight but consumes up to 20% of total energy, functions significantly better with stable levels of glucose and ketones from fats.
As nutritional scientist and bestselling author Dr. Uma Naidoo says: "What you eat for breakfast sets the neurochemical environment of your brain for the entire day." This idea is entirely consistent with what modern nutritional science tells us – breakfast isn't just about calories, but about the quality of the signals you send your body first thing in the morning.
The practical impact of switching to a savoury breakfast is often noticeable very quickly. Most people report that after a few days they feel less tired, have fewer cravings for sweets during the day, and experience an overall more stable mood. Part of this is due to balanced blood sugar levels, and part is because the body is receiving the nutrients it actually needs – not empty calories that fill the stomach but fail to nourish the cells.
Also interesting is what happens with the hormone cortisol. Cortisol levels – the stress hormone that naturally rises in the morning to help the body wake up – are at their highest approximately one hour after waking. This phenomenon is known as the cortisol awakening response and is entirely physiological. However, if the body receives a large dose of simple sugars at this moment, the cortisol response can be amplified, leading to greater nervousness, anxiety, or irritability. Protein and fats, on the other hand, help to dampen the cortisol response and ensure a calmer, more stable start to the day.
Switching to a savoury breakfast also has a potentially positive effect on body weight regulation. A study published in the journal Obesity found that people who ate protein-rich breakfasts consumed fewer total calories throughout the day and had fewer cravings for fatty and sweet foods. The mechanism is straightforward: protein stimulates the production of the hormone PYY, which signals a feeling of fullness to the brain, while also suppressing ghrelin – the hunger hormone.
How to practically switch to a savoury breakfast
Changing your morning routine doesn't have to be dramatic or time-consuming. There are a wide range of simple, tasty, and nutritionally valuable savoury breakfasts that can be prepared in less than ten minutes. Eggs are in this regard an almost perfect food – they contain a complete spectrum of amino acids, healthy fats, B vitamins, and choline, which is essential for brain function. Boiled, scrambled, fried, or as an omelette with vegetables – the options are plentiful.
Avocado on wholegrain bread or rye sourdough, hummus with vegetables, plain Greek yogurt with nuts and seeds, salmon with cottage cheese, or leftovers from the previous evening's meal – these are all examples of savoury breakfasts that will genuinely benefit the body. For those who have neither the time nor the inclination to cook in the morning, preparing breakfast the evening before can be the solution. Overnight oats without added sugar, complemented with nut butter and seeds, are technically an oat-based breakfast, but thanks to their protein and fat content, they behave metabolically in a similar way to savoury options.
When it comes to specific recommendations, nutrition experts agree on several basic principles:
- At least 20–30 grams of protein at breakfast – this corresponds to approximately three eggs, 150 grams of Greek yogurt, or 100 grams of salmon
- Add a source of healthy fats – avocado, nuts, seeds, or olive oil
- Choose complex carbohydrates over simple ones – wholegrain bread, oats, quinoa
- Reduce or completely eliminate added sugar from the morning meal
- Ensure adequate hydration – a glass of water or herbal tea in the morning helps kick-start the metabolism
Switching to a savoury breakfast doesn't have to mean permanently giving up fruit or natural sweeteners. It's more about a shift in priorities – ensuring that the foundation of breakfast is made up of nutrients that truly serve the body, rather than those that cause an energy rollercoaster.
Wim Hof, Andrew Huberman, and Tim Ferriss – modern pioneers of performance and health optimisation – agree that the morning routine and the choice of the first meal of the day have a fundamental impact on productivity, mood, and overall health. Huberman, in his podcast dedicated to nutrition and the brain, repeatedly emphasises that protein at breakfast is one of the most effective tools for stabilising energy and attention.
The Czech Republic is not without a tradition of savoury breakfasts. Bread with butter and cheese, ham, or eggs was for generations the standard on both rural and urban tables. It was only with the advent of industrially processed foods, sugary cereals, and fast food that this natural model began to disappear. Returning to savoury, nutritionally valuable breakfasts is therefore no fashionable novelty – it is in fact a return to what worked long before the marketing of cereal giants convinced us that sugar-coated crisps are the ideal start to the day.
Energy, concentration, mood, and appetite for the rest of the day – all of this stems from what a person has for breakfast. And it is here, in that seemingly small everyday choice, that enormous potential for change lies. Perhaps all it takes is swapping jam for avocado and discovering how differently the morning can unfold.
