Do you prefer a hearty breakfast or a light snack in the morning to grow taller in good health? A great meal for lunch or dinner? Snacks or no snacks? Three meals a day or several mini meals? No approach is healthier than eating breakfast if you follow your personal guidelines for growing taller, eating smart, and living an overall healthy life. That said, a less healthy or high-calorie meal, snack, or food choice day won’t make or break your health. Your food choices most days, in the long run, count! Think of some changes you could make. You can start small, maybe just add a bigger spoonful of veggies to your plate, or order a carton of milk to go with a fast food lunch. Like most consumers today, you can spend 45 minutes or less preparing a family meal (compared to 2 hours 45 years ago).

In fact, market research shows that 60 percent of American women want to spend less than 15 minutes preparing a meal. Like others, you can’t decide on the menu until the end of the workday. Sounds familiar? When time is short, don’t give up on healthy eating. Just take shortcuts to save time and energy! “No time,” “nothing to eat,” “woke up too late,” and “on a diet”—people give plenty of reasons to skip or skimp on breakfast. Despite its benefits, breakfast may be the most neglected and skipped meal of the day. Some blame their biological clock for not feeling hungry when they wake up. The excuse of “not being hungry” can be stress; stress hormones can affect hunger cues. With today’s hectic lifestyles, others lack time and energy first thing in the morning. Some falsely believe that skipping breakfast is effective for weight control.

What’s on today’s menu to make the whole family grow bigger? However, breakfast is the healthy way to start the day. Over forty years of breakfast-related studies show that breakfast benefits children, teens, and adults. Breakfast is your body’s first stop for refueling in the morning. After 8 to 12 hours without a meal or snack, your body needs to replenish your glucose (blood sugar) with a new supply of food.

The brain needs a fresh supply of glucose, its main source of energy, because without stored reserves, it cannot grow as easily. Sustained mental work, at school or at work, requires a large turnover of glucose in the brain. Your muscles also need a replenished supply of blood glucose for physical activity, including walking from your desk to the printer, throughout the day. Breakfast for better health. Among the benefits of breakfast: A good start to getting enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains into your day. Orange juice for breakfast offers more than vitamin C; it is also a good source of potassium. Whole-grain and other fiber-rich cereals and breads can increase your fiber and folate intake to help you grow taller. Studies suggest two other reasons to eat breakfast: gain height in a healthy way and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Breakfast eaters are less likely to be too hungry for mid-morning snacks or lunch; in general, they also tend to eat less fat throughout the day. Compared to breakfast eaters, studies show that breakfast skippers tend to have higher blood cholesterol levels, a risk factor for heart disease. More research on growing taller is needed to explore this link. For those who choose ready-to-eat breakfast cereals in the morning, their eating pattern tends to have more vitamins and minerals, less total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and fewer calories. Why do protein foods seem ideal for growing taller and making meals more satisfying? For you, satisfaction may come in part from what you define as a meal, perhaps a high-protein food such as meat, fish, chicken, eggs, or a soy burger, served with other foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, etc.) , and/or dairy products)

But the benefits of protein for growing taller at meals extend beyond food preferences. With their high energy needs and small tummies, most kids need snacks. And also teenagers. Three meals a day are often not enough to provide all the nutrients and dietary energy they need. The tip for parents: help kids learn good snacking habits. And keep snacks on hand from nutrient-dense food groups that kids enjoy and encourage them to snack to satisfy hunger, without overeating. Make snacking calories count in your personal healthy eating plan to grow taller without overextending your day’s calorie budget. Think of snacks as mini meals that can provide foods from the nutrient-rich food group. See “A Food Group Plan for You” and “Two Food Group Snacks.”

Watch out for energy-dense snacks (candy, juice, soda, others) with a lot of fat, especially saturated (solid) fats and/or added sugars; choose them appropriately so that your day’s food choices fit within your calorie budget. A little lean protein food can add satiety. Use food labels to make snack decisions. Remember: If a snack package has two servings and you eat the entire amount, you also double the calories, saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, and sodium listed in one serving on the label! Check the ingredient list for added sugars…if canned liquid supplements or meal replacements are good snacks for you.

Despite the hype, you don’t need expensive liquid nutrition to supplement your meals if you’re healthy and growing taller. Neither do your children. Foods (fruit, smoothies, whole-grain crackers, yogurt) taste better and provide nutrients and other beneficial substances that canned liquid “foods” lack. If you think you need a supplement, stick with a multivitamin/mineral supplement tablet. For a fraction of the price, you get the same nutritional benefits to grow taller.