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The Nourished Nervous System
An exploration of stress, the nervous system, and resilience through the lenses of Ayurveda, Somatic Practice, Herbs, Neural Plasticity and much more!
The Nourished Nervous System
Breaking the Breakfast Rules: An Ayurvedic Approach to the Morning Meal
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I get this question all the time from clients and listeners: what do I eat for breakfast? So in this episode, I'm finally diving in.
I'll start with my own story — because I was not always a breakfast person. It took a bowl of miso soup at Kripalu in my twenties to crack open my idea of what breakfast could even be. And once I realized I could eat anything for breakfast — soup, roasted vegetables, leftover dinner — everything changed.
From there we get into the science, because the research around breakfast and cortisol is genuinely fascinating and validates so much of what Ayurveda has been saying for thousands of years. Then we look at breakfast through the Ayurvedic lens — what agni needs in the morning, how to eat for your dosha, and how to shift your breakfast with the seasons.
This episode is a permission slip to ditch the breakfast rules and start listening to what your body actually needs.
In this episode:
- My personal journey from breakfast-skipper to born-again breakfast eater
- The miso soup moment at Kripalu that changed everything
- What the research says about cortisol, blood sugar, and skipping breakfast
- The UC Davis study on breakfast skippers and elevated cortisol
- A nuanced take on intermittent fasting and how to do it in a way that's easier on your nervous system
- Agni and the Ayurvedic philosophy of the morning meal
- Breakfast for Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas
- Seasonal breakfast wisdom — what to eat in fall, winter, spring, and summer
- Why savory oatmeal is underrated (and delicious)
- Practical tips for making nourishing breakfasts sustainable and doable
- This week's small step: one simple question to ask before you reach for your coffee
Resources mentioned:
- Dosha episodes: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha deep dives
- Free Dosha Reference Chart
- Witbracht et al. (2015). Female breakfast skippers display a disrupted cortisol rhythm and elevated blood pressure. Physiology & Behavior, 140, 215–221. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25545767/
Resources:
Free Masterclass: The Alchemy of the Perimenopause Portal
Ayurvedic Dosha Quick Reference Guide
Nourished For Resilience Workbook
Find me at www.nourishednervoussystem.com
and @nourishednervoussytem on Instagram