What to Look For in Your Cereal
Without a doubt, a trip down the cereal aisle can be incredibly overwhelming. There are bright boxes everywhere with claims on heart health, fiber, gluten-free, whole grains, and everything in between. It can be very confusing to know whether to believe the boxes or simply throw up your hands and skip the aisle altogether.
Here’s a quick pro-tip when looking at cereals: Ignore the claims on the front of the box. Why? Because those marketing claims are often unfounded. They may not have been well-researched and are intended to make you want to purchase that cereal. Kind of misleading, huh? Totally. But since it’s allowed by the Food and Drug Administration, we must move forward and be better detectives.
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So what should you focus on? The ingredient list and the nutrition facts panel, found on the side or back of the box. Here we can dig a little deeper into what is in our products and make informed decisions from there.
Ingredients
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While there may be some unknowns on the label (like “tocopherols” which is nothing more than vitamin E), the ingredient list should be mostly recognizable and not include artificial ingredients or added sweeteners. We want to find whole grains, natural sugars (like cane sugar over corn syrup), and other whole and real ingredients. If you find multiple sources of sugar on the list—for example, cane sugar, corn syrup, maltodextrin, fructose, or dextrose—that’s a red flag and you may want to put it back. Also, the shorter the list, usually the better.
Fiber
Fiber is what fills us up and helps keep us regular. Not to mention, fiber has been shown to be protective for heart health. Cereal that is a good source of fiber (containing more than 4 grams per serving) can help us feel full longer. In general, we should consume 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day, so starting the day off with a good source can help us reach that desirable total.
Sugar
Sugar is delicious. It hooks us and keeps us wanting more. While some sugar is certainly OK (it’s necessary for many bodily and mental functions), we aren’t looking for a bowl of ice cream for breakfast here. When looking at your cereal, check out the nutrition facts panel and look for “Added Sugars.” Ideally, this should be less than 10 grams.
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I recommend focusing on cereals rather than granolas because, believe it or not, granolas can contain more sugar than cereals. If you crave a little sweetness with your milk and cereal, try tossing in some fresh fruit, which will provide a little natural sugar plus meaningful nutrition. Keeping sugar in check can help to regulate blood sugar levels and keep you feeling evenly energized all day long.
Protein
Protein helps to fuel our lean body mass and, in my experience as a registered dietitian, is usually lacking in most people’s diets. Protein is important for so many processes in the body and, like fiber, helps us feel full and satiated for longer.
That said, protein is a nice to have, not a need to have when looking at cereals. Why? Because cereals are grain-based, they naturally won’t contain much protein unless they’re fortified. But that’s OK. That’s where milk can come in! Milk is a good source of protein (particularly if you choose fortified milk), so it can tag-team with cereal to make it a more complete meal.
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