How Breakfast Can Save Your Life

Breakfast; the most important meal of the day, or so the old saying goes. But it's true, eating a healthy breakfast could help you keep off those extra pounds that you thought you were shedding by not tucking in before rush hour.

Research from Harvard Medical School has shown that people who ate breakfast every day were a third less likely to become obese compared to those who skipped early meal times.

In addition, they were half as likely to have blood-sugar problems, which increase the risk of developing diabetes or having high cholesterol, which is a risk factor associated with heart disease.

Whole grain cereals have been linked to reducing blood sugar problems and could reduce the risk of diabetes.

So stop side-stepping the cereal bowl and chow down before you leave the house.

Here are some top breakfast cereal ideas to get you up before the milkman.

1. Muesli with Plain Yogurt . A Swiss classic, many types of muesli can be found in the cereal aisle. There's one to suit all tastes. We go for the supermarket own-brand 'Date and Apricot' which has enough dried fruit to give it quite a sweet flavour. Top the muesli with a few spoons of natural yoghurt. Fresh berries and honey gives an ordinary bowlful a luxury touch.

Money saving tip: Make your muesli go further by mixing in a bag of plain rolled oats, they are the main ingredient of most mueslis, even the expensive top brands.

2. Go one step further and make your own muesli. Mix your favourite combination of rolled oats, dried fruit and nuts. Buying these items in bulk means you can save money and make make a tasty, healthy breakfast.

Try this Jamie Oliver recipe for a home-made toasted muesli.

Everyone has the same amount of time in the day, so make the effort and fill up before you leave the house. It might just save your life.