Cereal can be a delicious start to the day, delivering a boost to your body’s energy level that can last well into lunch. The trick is picking out the right cereal that is low in sugar and packed with superfoods, whole grains, and even fruit.
Advertisers have always been savvy and they are getting better. With so many people looking for a healthy start to their day, brands like Kellogg’s are making sure to target a healthier audience. Though not all of their cereals are terrible for you, it is important to look past their claims and focus on the ingredients. For example, if a brand is advertising a cereal with ‘whole grains,’ there still might be high fructose corn syrup—a sugar that you definitely don’t want to consume, even if you are getting your dose of whole grains.
Some companies do cereal “challenges” (Special K, for instance) to guarantee weight loss. Eating cereal for breakfast and lunch is not a smart idea in general, and in this case it is definitely not healthy. If you are going to eat cereal for lunch because you have no time or it is the only thing available at the moment, make sure you are at least eating a product with minimal sugar.
Cereal should be:
- High in fiber
- Low in sugar
- Full of whole grains like wheat, barley, kamut, and spelt
- Two hundred calories or less per serving
- Full of superfoods like walnuts, oats, and berries
Do not buy cereal if it contains:
- Enriched flours
- High fructose corn syrup, or any other form of corn syrup
- Less than 4 grams of fiber per serving
Good brands to look for:
- Cascadian Farms
- Galaxy Granola
- Arrowhead Mills
- Erewhon
- Barbara’s
- Nature’s Path
- Private label Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s brands
