Super Bowls - healthy breakfast cereals

Better Nutrition, Sept, 2001 by Lisa Turner

Your Guide To Healthy Breakfast Cereals

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But getting the kids to eat a healthy meal in the morning can be a big challenge, especially when most mass-market cereals are loaded with sugar, artificial flavors and colors. What's a parent to do? The good news is that there is a whole array of kid-friendly cereals available at your local health food store. By using sweeteners such as honey, molasses and brown flee syrup, these natural cereals help satisfy your little ones' sweet tooth in the morning while still offering the benefits of whole grains, vitamins and minerals.

And what about moms and dads? Studies have shown that people who eat a breakfast of cereal, milk and orange juice end up, consuming an average of 40 percent more fiber, 40 percent more iron, 54 percent more vitamin A and 38 percent more calcium. Breakfast skippers, on the other hand, tend to make up few nutrients--but lots of calories--over the day.

cereal killers

Here's the problem: the advent of sugary puffs, pops and flakes ruined cereal's reputation. Grains are great food, but once they are rendered into typical breakfast cereals, they can be murder on a healthy diet. Most breakfast cereals contain a deadly quantity of refined white sugar-some as much as 30 percent--often appearing under the guise of corn syrup or other less guilty-sounding names. Some contain as much as 14 grams of saturated fat from palm kernel and coconut oils. And many cereals use refined grains, stripped of their healthy fiber, to say nothing of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.

How do you make your cereal more healthy? Choose whole-grain flakes, nuggets or biscuits, with healthier, natural sweeteners like honey, molasses or brown rice syrup.

the whole truth

The truth is, whole grains are good food. They contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, B vitamins and fiber. They contain inosital hexaphosphate (also known as IP-6), which can prevent the formation of free radicals and may protect against breast, colon and liver cancers. Cereals are also rich in folate, a B vitamin that regulates blood levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that's been linked to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack. Folate also helps prevent neural tube defects (NTDs) in newborns--several studies show as much as a 60 to 70 percent significant reduction in the incidence of NTDs with folate supplementation. And because NTDs develop only 1'8 to 30 days after conception--before many women even know they're pregnant--women of childbearing years need to be especially careful of this important compound. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations require that all grain products be fortified with folic acid--between 0.43 mg up to 1.4 mg per pound of product.

fiber facts

How much fiber have you had today? If you're like the typical American, probably less than you should. Recommendations for fiber intake range from 20 grams to 35 grams per day. That's where whole-grain, fiber-rich cereals can play an important part of any diet. High consumption of dietary fiber has been linked with reduced risk of colon, breast and prostate cancers. Fiber plays a role in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease through its ability to reduce blood cholesterol, and in the treatment of diabetes by slowing the absorption of glucose from the small intestine. And its laxative effects are equally important: fiber from wheat bran and oat bran is more effective at increasing fecal bulk than that from fruits, vegetables or purified cellulose fiber.

Fiber content varies widely between cereals. Many contain less than one gram of fiber per serving, while others offer as much as 14 grams of fiber. For the healthiest bowl, choose a cereal with at least five grams of fiber. Or if you're having a hard time with the shredded cardboard effect of high-fiber cereals, try adding a handful of super-high fiber bran cereal to your favorite moderate-fiber cereal for a more palatable bowl.

how sweet it is?

The most universally vilified ingredient in breakfast cereals is refined white sugar, and for good reason. It's well known that sugar causes cavities by interacting with bacteria in the mouth, producing acids that create holes in the tooth's enamel. Sugar has also been linked to obesity, hyperactivity in children and behavioral disorders, including mood swings, depression, confusion and fatigue.

Natural sweeteners may be a better bet. Although sweeteners in any form--be it honey, fructose or refined white sugar--are broken down into glucose in the body, more natural alternatives have some advantages. The difference is the rate at which glucose is dumped into the bloodstream and the nutrient content of various sweeteners. For a better breakfast, select cereals with less than four grams (the equivalent of a teaspoon) of any kind of sweetener per serving. Or choose an unsweetened variety, and add one of the following sweet alternatives: