The Cryptonaut's Breakfast

What Should I eat in the Morning ?

It's a popular question. What is the ideal breakfast ? Many people think a bowl of cereals or just a cup of coffee. Neither being a great start for an adult. Most cereals are mainly sugar and contain almost no fat or protein so it's no wonder that by 10.30am you'll be tucking into an 800 calories muffin. Astronauts know a thing or two about what a good breakfast is and on the morning of a ride into space, they require a special kind of breakfast. One which will withstand the rigours of a 28,968 kmh launch pulling 3 G's, (3 x the gravity experienced on Earth.)

When they reach space, an astronaut's diet has to be carefully considered for obvious reasons of lack of gravity & storage facilities. They also require a diet which suits their activity levels, accommodation and with special packaging (as above from the Gemini missions.)

Space Food

You can buy space food online. I was given some for my birthday once. I was quite intrigued. Dehydrated ice cream. is possibly one of the best sweet treats I've ever tasted. What at first seems like a dry piece of roof insulation suddenly melts in your mouth into a velvety & glorious vanilla, strawberry or chocolate flavour of an intensity which is difficult to describe... minus the brain freeze !

 

Setting A Precedent

Astronaut Alan Shepard, the first ever American to venture into space in 1961 (on our left of the pic below) began the tradition of Steak & Eggs for breakfast, which continued to be a standard breakfast for Astronauts. It's packed full of protein and energy. It also constitutes low residue, meaning there won't be much waste later on. Alan was a former test pilot like many other astronauts. (He was also a Rear Admiral and a businessman) so his experience led him to choose a breakfast to suit his own needs. Steak & Eggs is not a mandatory requirement nowadays and astronauts can choose what they fancy, within reason and with nutritional advice from the medical team. They don't want to vomit on launch. That could potentially and very easily spoil a very nice day in space for everyone!

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What Do CryptoNauts Eat for Breakfast

I made a bit of a breakthrough last year with ketogenics, which is the exclusion (or more realistically) the near exclusion of carbohydrates from the diet. Originally conceived in the 1920's as a way to halt seizures in epileptic children, the technique was successful at halting seizures and also proved to be an effective health management too. It works by taking advantage of our inbuilt strarvation mode to survive, while denying the brain it's regular diet of sugars from carbohydrates. Instead the body burns fat and creates acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and their spontaneous breakdown product, acetone ketone bodies -, which your body would usually produce when fasting. The body can use KB's as an alternative fuel source and in conjunction with protein, I found it a very healthy diet.

Well Watered

It requires extra hydration as the kidneys process the extra protein and it's essential to eat lots of non starchy veg; salad and greens to make sure your digestion runs smoothly and to maintain a healthy mineral and vitamin balance. Here's a salad I make for an evening meal or lunch. It is usually topped with warm goats cheese or chicken strips and Extra virgin olive oil / balsamic vinegar. Containing a blend of baby salad leaves. chard, lamb's lettuce & spinach, tomato, red pepper, sliced beetroot, olives, nuts or seeds and olives with a small sprinkle of antioxidant packed, sour fruits; in this case blueberries and sliced strawberries.)

(It is a good way to lose weight for obese / overweight adults) and although I would STRONGLY recommend seeking medical supervision before changing your diet, it can have a profound effect on your health in a positive way. I found that a ketogenic or ultra low carb diet made me think differently and it seemed to encourage a clear and analytical way of thinking, which is excellent for crypto people. Once your sugar cravings dissipate (after a few days) it becomes normal. I found there was quite a strong withdrawal process from sugar with headaches and bodyaches, but this is temporary. I spoke to my Physician about the withdrawal. He said "you have been addicted to sugar for many years and the reaction is quite similar to a narcotics withdrawal, but in a slightly less punishing way."

The Cryptonaut's Breakfast is synonymous with the Millionaires Breakfast, which is probably not much different from the astronaut's breakfast. Go-getters eat a good breakfast !

It's a Tough Diet

I found the keto diet quite a challenge, not only because it stretches your culinary skills to the limit. What do you do without bread, pasta, rice and all the other normal carb fillers which 10,000 years of civilisation has fed us upon in increasing amounts ?

Carb Light

I found some interesting answers and eventually after losing about 15 kilos settled on a carb light maintenance diet. At a certain ratio, your body will continue to burn fat as it's primary fuel source and you can stabilise your weight loss with a small amount of carb intake per day. Each person is different but I found that about 75grms of carbs per day is about right to keep the needle on the scales in the same place. This is a good way to lose weight for people who for one reason or another cannot exercise and while exercise has obvious and immediate benefits, working out at the gym uses up a few hundred calories... or half a muffin. What you eat and portion control seem to have a much more pronounced effect on weight loss and health management. It's about changing your metabolism and attitude towards food from fun to fuel. Not to say that you shouldn't enjoy your food, but if you're eating to cheer yourself up or because you're bored, it's not very healthy in the long run and will likely become counterproductive.

Most people tend to eat about 500grms of carbs each day and as long as you eat that amount daily, your body will not burn it's fat stores. Carbs are more difficult to store for the body so we generally use carbs first and then our body converts the excess into glycogen, which is stored in the muscles and liver to use later. If not used up by exercise, (cyclists often pack away a pizza / pasta combo the day before a long ride) the body will turn it into more fat and so we eventually get bigger and bigger. For most healthy adults, reducing carbs allows the body to burn some of the fat stores which have been accumulating for years and it puts less strain on the pancreas to produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity for obvious reasons and the overeating of carbs forces our Pancreas to produce more and more insulin. We become less sensitive to it and over time our Pancreas starts to malfunction; ie not produce enough. In many cases, this is inevitable as we age and older people are often advised to eat a fatter diet, which contains less sugars and is relatively easy to digest.

The Happy Medium

I eventually found a happy medium to the carb quantity conundrum and came up with the Cryptonaut's Breakfast. pictured above. It contains 15grms of carbs in the form of one slice of wholemeal toast. It comes with a double fried egg. Lots of protein and fat, some peanut butter (wholenut no sugar added) and a protein shake, which in this case is chocolate flavoured. I usually prefer vanilla but this was on special and it's actually really nice. I have it with soya milk and the spread is a special plant stanol based vegetable oil composition, designed to keep cholesterol low, although I found that with a high fat (healthy fats) and high protein diet, my cholesterol levels are quite normal.

this article is for educational purposes only. If you would like to try an extreme diet, I recommend you seek medical supervision first as underlying health issues could predispose you to serious harm. You have been warned.