IT’S held up as the most important meal of the day. But it can also be the most rushed. Breakfast is often a meal of convenience consumed on the hoof.

A wee slice of toast and jam? A bowl of cornflakes? Easy-peasy.

However, a new “Food Compass” has pinpointed the healthiest foods to have for breakfast – and jam and cornflakes do not cut the mustard.

Instead, scientists at Tufts University in Massachusetts have highlighted foods like raw salmon or avocado for a healthy breakfast.

They have created the Food Compass to rank 8000 foods from one to 100, with 100 being the healthiest option.

The researchers found anything with a mark over 70 is a “good” food to have, while anything with a mark under 30 should be avoided.

In terms of breakfast foods, Cheerios scored a 95 on the scale, while raspberries scored 100, as did celery juice, raw salmon, avocado, red kidney beans and raw broccoli. Poached or boiled eggs scored just 51 on the list, while fizzy drinks, jam on white toast, fudge and frankfurters scored one out of 100.

I’m sorry for being behind the curve here, but when were fizzy drinks and fudge a go-to for breakfast? But thanks, dear scientists, for stating the obvious.

Despite Cheerios’ high ranking, other cereals didn’t quite match, with cornflakes being ranked at 19 out of 100, Special K ranked at 18 and Frosties ranked at 15.

However, we all know porridge is the king of cereals.

The average score for all of the 8000 foods tested was 43, with snacks and desserts rated the lowest, funnily enough. Fruit, vegetables and legumes were the top-scoring groups, while meat scored just 25, poultry scored 43 and seafood scored 67.

By far the weirdest breakfast buffet I have ever encountered was in Prague. There was much on offer; all the usual favourites. Plus a pot of vegetable soup and a pan of broccoli. All bases were well and truly covered for a day in the crisp, cold weather.

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak was less than on-the-ball last week when revealing his breakfasting habits.

The Tory leadership hopeful revealed his go-to McDonald’s breakfast order – before the fast-food chain confirmed it stopped selling the item two years ago.

Sunak appeared on morning telly on Thursday, a day after being pictured at a branch of the popular chain.

He told breakfast show hosts that his trip had been at about 7.45am, so he had ordered a bacon roll with ketchup, and pancakes.

The National: Does your breakfast score high?Does your breakfast score high?

He continued: “If I’m with my daughters then we get the wrap. With my eldest daughter ... if I’m with her, then a wrap with a hash brown and everything in it is what we do.”

However, a McDonald’s spokesperson confirmed the chain stopped selling breakfast wraps in March 2020, a move made permanent with an announcement in January this year.

A source from Sunak’s campaign is said to have told The Guardian that the former chancellor and his children ordered the wraps prior to their removal from the menu.

The source added: “I think given he’s barely seen his kids in the last two-and-a-half years, it’s likely he hasn’t been to McDonald’s in that time.”

Not spending much time with your children for more than two years seems a rather extreme excuse for not knowing your McDonald’s breakfast order. But then, I’ve never understood the Tories.