Cereal Nutrition Facts
We Americans sure love our cereal. Forty-nine percent of us start our days with bowls of cereal, eating an average of 160 bowls per year. A whopping 2.7 billion boxes of cereal fly off the shelves in U.S. supermarkets each year! Among them, are top-sellers Cheerios, Special K, Honey Bunches of Oat, Frosted Flakes, Frosted Mini Wheats, Raisin Bran, Fruit Loops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms and Cap'n Crunch. But given all this talk of "eating healthy," losing weight with a balanced breakfast and getting enough fiber, which cereals are the most nutritionally sound?
-
Dieters, Beware of Calories!
-
FitnessHealthZone.com
We're often told that cereal is the best possible breakfast one can have. Studies show that skipping breakfast causes us to eat more calories throughout the day. It's best to eat the most calories early in the day to stave off dangerous hunger pangs later on. Family physician Carolyn J. Cedarquist advises that your breakfast should consist of "400 to 500 calories and include protein and fiber." This seems easy enough unless you consider that one cup of Quaker Sun Country Granola with Almonds cereal contains 532 calories and 20 grams of fat; that's not even including the milk!
When you're choosing a breakfast cereal, be sure you check out the serving size. Some serving sizes are as little as half a cup, so accidentally gulping down a double portion can really throw your nutritional calculations for a loop! Some of the best low-calorie cereals include: Wheaties (106 calories), Honey Nut Cheerios (112 calories), Kashi Mighty Bites (120 calories/1 cup serving), Kashi Organic Promise Strawberry Fields (120 calories), Natures Promise Honey Whole Grain Cereal (147 calories), Kelloggs All Bran Yogurt Bites (150 calories), Post Honey Nut Shredded Wheat (160 calories), Honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries (160 calories), Special K Fruit & Yogurt (160 calories), Yogurt Burst Cheerios (160 calories) and Kashi Go Lean Crunch (190 calories). For the best results, measure out your serving with a measuring cup scoop. Remember to have that with half a cup of low-fat or skim milk, which has half the calories of whole milk!
Think Whole Grains
-
Is there whole grain in your cereal?
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Whole grains haven't had their bran and germ removed by milling, making them good sources of fiber... Among many health benefits, high-fiber foods also tend to make you feel full longer." The FDA says fiber plays an important role in preventing diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease, hypertension and digestive disorders. After all, it's fiber that pushes food through our digestive systems, absorbs water and makes ridding the body of waste much easier. When looking for a healthy breakfast cereal, "Consumers should aim to select cereals that are high in fiber, ones that are made with whole grains," explains Sandra Affenito, associate nutrition professor at Saint Joseph College. "Americans of all ages do not consume the recommended fiber intake."
By contrast, refined cereals--even with their added vitamins and minerals--don't provide as many nutrients as whole grains, Mayo Clinic experts add. On average, a refined cereal strips away 66% of the cereal's fiber, 62% of the folate, 92% of the selenium and 99% of the phytochemicals essential for healthy living. You'll want to avoid refined grain cereals like Apple Jacks,Cap'n Crunch, Quaker Chex, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, Crispix, Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Honey Bunches of Oats, Kix, Lucky, Rice Krispies and Special K.
So which cereals are our fiber winners? Bran Buds leads the pack with 36 grams of fiber, which is almost your daily recommendation. You can also look for: All-Bran Plus Fiber (31 grams), Fiber One (28.5 grams), Grape Nuts (11 grams), Raisin Bran (8 grams), Kashi Go Lean Crunch (8 grams), Original Post Spoon Size Shredded Wheat (6 grams), Trader Joe's Frosted Vanilla Shredded Bite Size Wheats (5 grams) and Trader Joe's Soy and Flax Clusters (5 grams). Generally, any cereal with 5 or more grams of fiber is considered a good bet.
Look For Low-Sugar
-
Aszichild.com
It's easy to overdose on sugar, experts warn, since we have so many other sources of it in our daily diets. Generally, your cereal should not contain more than 25% of its calories from sugar. To calculate this, multiply the grams of sugar per serving by 4 (because there are 4 calories per gram of sugar). Next, divide this number (calories from sugar) by the total number of calories per serving.Then multiply this number by 100 to find the percentage of calories from sugar. According to Consumer Reports and MSNBC, 11 popular cereals have more than 40% of their calories from sugar, including Post Golden Crisp, Kelloggs Honey Smacks and Raisin Bran. With this much sugar, you may as well eat a doughnut for breakfast!
Good low-sugar cereals include: Mighty Bites Honey Crunch Cereal by Kashi, Frosted Vanilla Shredded Bite Size Wheats by Trader Joe's, Honey Nut Cheerios, Fiber One Honey Clusters, Kashi Go Lean, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Wheaties, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Honey Nut Shredded Wheat, Wheat Chex, Post Bran Flakes and hot oatmeal.
Eat a Balanced Breakfast and Exercise
-
Telegraph.co.uk
In addition to your healthy cereal choice, experts recommend adding 1/2 cup to 1 cup of skim or low-fat milk, a piece of fresh fruit or a glass of juice. You'll notice that many cereals are adding fruit like raisins, dried strawberries and blueberries--as well as nuts, flax seeds and sunflower seeds--which is generally a good thing. By eating a breakfast full of carbohydrates, lean protein and whole grains, your body will be pumped and ready to function its best.
Worst Cereals - Trans Fat Offenders
-
ExpiredFoods.net
If you can believe it, there are actually cereals that contain trans fats. For instance, Kellogg's Cracklin' Oat Bran Cereal has 1.5 grams. Post Selects Great Grains has 1 gram, and General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal has .5 grams. While this may not seem like a lot, consider that the American Heart Association recommends that we have no more than 2 grams of trans fats per day. Other cereals that contain trans fats include: Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Pebbles, Basic 4, Fruit Loops, Rice Krispy Treats, Oreo O's, Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, Smorz, Eggo Cereal Maple Syrup, Mini-Swirlz Cinnamon Bun and Waffle Crisp. When scanning ingredients, you'll want to avoid anything made from "partially hydrogenated" oils.
-
Related Searches
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Levi Brown
