Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – not only for people who start their day off with a sports activity, but for all of us. During our breakfast we take in the necessary resources for the day. The Verival products provide the ideal breakfast for everyone – whether without added sugar, rich in fibre or high in protein, 100% vegan, lactose-free or gluten-free. Especially athletes have to keep an eye on a sufficient food intake so that they do not run out of energy prematurely. Before we can explain what the ideal athlete breakfast looks like, we need to take a closer look at the different nutritional building blocks.

What are the different types of nutrients?

Food is our body’s fuel and every bite we take in is a source of energy. In order to build and maintain our organs and organism we need nutrients. Through the food we eat, we can absorb macro-nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates and water) and micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals). The two types of nutrients differ in the amount that we have to consume every day. The daily requirement of macro-nutrients is therefore considerably greater than the amount of micro-nutrients.

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates can be divided into short-chain and long-chain carbohydrates.

  • The short-chain carbohydrates are called sugar. For example glucose and household sugar.
  • Long-chain foods include starch, which is contained in various foods such as fruit, vegetables, potatoes and whole meal products.


What are fats?

In addition to carbohydrates, fats are an important source of energy. But they also have many other functions in the body. They are:

  • A component of the cell membrane
  • Protective pads for the internal organs and the nervous system
  • Insulators against heat loss


What are proteins?

Proteins are composed of amino acids which are mainly found in muscle tissue and are the basic building blocks of all cells. Proteins also have the following functions:

  • They transport substances in our body
  • They are needed for the production of hormones, enzymes, immune substances and blood components


This is how energy consumption works in sports

Which and how many of these nutrients do you need to take in in order for your body to be sufficiently supplied during a sports activity? This question can be answered by looking into the energy metabolism of the human body. It all depends on how much you strain yourself during your sports activity.

Most of the energy released by the body comes from the burning of fats. They are broken down and used by our body if the physical performance is low. If you increase the strain, more and more carbohydrates are processed by our body. If the strain becomes even greater, your body has to break down the carbohydrates without oxygen and lactic acid is produced. Lactic acid makes sure that you have to stop your physical activity in a relatively short time. If the strain is even more intense, such as during jumping or when doing sprints, there is another type of energy supply, which lasts only about 6-8 seconds and is converted with the help of the creatine phosphate. The creatine phosphate is an energy source that helps to maintain skeletal muscle performance over a short period of time.

All these processes never take place separately from each other, but always occur in mixed forms. For example, if you go for a run and you can still talk easily, you will be predominantly in the fat metabolism. If you increase the speed and it gets harder to talk, the contribution of carbohydrates will increase. On average, you can keep up this strain in the carbohydrate metabolism for up to an hour. If you run even faster, there will be an oxygen shortage and lactic acid will be produced.

What and when to eat before exercising

Which breakfast is the best before doing sports? This depends on how much time you have in between your breakfast and workout. If you can wait 2-3 hours after breakfast to start your workout, products with the long-chain carbohydrates are the best choice. They have the ability to supply you with the necessary energy for a long time. You can find them in our Verival Organic Mueslis or in the Porridges. For an active start into the day the Sport Muesli Strawberry-Sour Cherry as a vegan food source is particularly recommendable for athletes. Our products from the Verival Sport Range also provide you with the perfect supply of protein-rich and fibre-rich nutrients. The products are 100% vegan and have a low sugar content. There are also many healthy fats contained in the kernels, seeds and nuts.

If you don’t have much time in between your breakfast and training, we would recommend having short-chain carbohydrates. These are available within a short time after breakfast and provide you with a quick energy boost for your workout. You can try our organic Crunchys, the Date & Coconut Bites or the Honey waffles if you want to be quickly supplied with energy. If you are in a hurry, our Verival Breakfast Shake is perfect for on the go. Even if you have a sensitive stomach before a workout, the breakfast shake is suitable for you.

The ideal sports breakfast

Whether you’re active or not, you should never skip breakfast. Not even if your workout takes place at noon or in the evening. Since our energy stores are emptied overnight, they have to be refilled in the morning. Therefore, it is important to take in the right nutrients through your breakfast. The Grain Free Sport Muesli Almond-Fig from the Verival Sport Range provides you with a mix of sunflower seeds, almonds, cashew seeds, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, coconut chips, flax seeds, sesame seeds and is refined with apple cubes, figs and currants. The Grain Free Sport Muesli is an optimal vegan protein source for an active start into the day.

Besides a balanced nutrient intake in the morning, a sufficient water intake is very important. Make sure to consume at least half a litre of water after getting up in the morning.

Alexandra Wiesinger

Gesunde Ernährung spielt für mich sowohl persönlich als auch in meinem beruflichen Kontext eine große Rolle. Deswegen probiere ich gerne neue Rezepte aus und teile hier mit euch meine Tipps für einen gesunden Lebensstil und leckeres nahrhaftes Frühstück.   Dabei ist es mir besonders wichtig einen klaren Überblick über verschiedene Ernährungsthemen zu geben und euch alltagstaugliche Tipps mit an die Hand zu geben.   Mein liebstes Verival Produkt: das Himbeer-Kakao Sport Porridge mit Haferkleie. Zu meinem Lieblingsprodukt

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