Stroll down the cereal section at your local grocery store, and you might believe it's the heart of a nutritious lifestyle. The flashy packaging competes for notice with reassuring statements: Packed with fiber from whole grains! Promotes a balanced digestive system! Contains nine essential vitamins and minerals! Aids in maintaining your family’s well-being! Always supporting you! Strengthens bones! Helps combat weariness and exhaustion!
An additional slogan might be: Minimal chance of harm! This cannot be claimed about another popular breakfast choice, the avocado. Last week, the Royal Society for Accident Prevention alerted that "avocado hand" - which occurs when individuals cut themselves while preparing or deseeding the fruit - has been causing injuries requiring emergency room visits.
This prompted Alan Titchmarsh, Britain’s renowned horticulturist, to state: "The straightforward approach to preventing harm while extracting the pit from an avocado is to avoid consuming them altogether." In a missive to The Times, he contended: "Cornflakes have many merits,"
Weetabix
and Shreddies.”
Nevertheless, the truth is that their health benefits are questionable, as these boxes often contain large quantities of sugar, salt, and highly processed components.
Concerns have been raised regarding fortification—particularly with products claiming "nine vitamins and minerals." While some of these additives could indeed be beneficial,
vitamin D
, which becomes scarce during the winter months. However, as Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, notes in her book "Food Politics," the frequent fortification of foods with additional vitamins and minerals is not likely to enhance our well-being and "raises questions regarding the potential risks associated with excessive intake."
Let’s not paint all cereals with the same broad stroke, however. Out there, some cereals offer a worthwhile beginning to your day. They certainly deliver an instant energy boost too. The top choices supply ample fiber and complex carbohydrates for sustained energy release. Therefore, avoid being a cereal assassin; simply select a nutritious choice where the promises hold true.
Surprisingly high in sugar and protein levels; however, these numbers are misleading due to the presence of milk powder. It has an adequate amount of fiber at 3.6g but includes flavorings and anti-caking agents, making it highly processed.
For a breakfast version of pot noodles, simply top up with hot water from the kettle. The outcome is sticky and excessively sugary, with an odd caramel-like taste instead of golden syrup’s flavor. Disappointing.
Amber on the traffic light system for sugar (5.3g per 30g serving), not particularly impressive regarding protein and fiber content, and contains several UPF components such as palm oil, antioxidants, and coloring agents.
Delightful, crunchy, and light with a touch of caramelised nuts. There’s a subtle texture from the fiber, which won’t deter children, potentially making this a stepping stone to more high-fiber options. However, it doesn’t appear to be particularly satisfying as a meal.
It's decent when it comes to fibre (with 3.8 grams per two-biscuit serving) and protein, plus it has low sugar content. However, it includes malted barley extract, according to Van Tulleken, who classifies this as a flavor enhancer and places such products in the UPF category.
Softly malted and biscuit-like with an initial crispness that soon turns to a softer texture. It lacks strong flavors. The packaging recommends including berries and seeds, which appears to be a sensible suggestion for enhancing both taste and nutritional value.
Including wheat gluten, which is a full-protein source, raises the content to 7.6 grams per two-biscuit portion. This product matches regular Weetabix in terms of sugar and fiber content, along with containing the same UPF malted barley extract.
The consistency is distinct – it features crisp, textured pieces similar to Grape Nuts, with a subtle, enjoyable bitter undertone that might be due to the inclusion of cocoa powder. These qualities make them more appealing to me compared to standard Weetabix.
With only 0.9 grams of fiber per 30-gram portion, along with 2.1 grams of protein and 2.4 grams of sugar, this product includes barley malt extract, which is considered an Ultra Processed Food (UPF) component.
Softly sweet, reminiscent of honey, malt-driven with a touch of bitterness that enhances the flavor of the milk — it’s easy to see why cereal milk has become popular. It remains crunchy for a short time before becoming soft, yet doesn’t feel satisfyinging.
Given that this cereal markets itself as high in fiber, only having 3.6 grams per 40-gram serving is underwhelming. It has quite a bit of sugar content; however, some part of it can be attributed to the inclusion of dried fruits. The presence of barley malt extract indicates that it undergoes extensive processing.
Packed abundantly with fruit and coconut, topped with crispy sweet flakes that turn soft within three minutes. However, the officially designated serving size is quite petite (40 grams equates to merely 100 milliliters or about half a teacup). One would typically add much more.
Each 50g serving contains 6.3g of protein, offering a substantial quantity, along with an impressive 3.7g of fiber and 3.6g of sugar (largely due to the inclusion of dried fruits). The product does not include barley malt extract; instead, it has fructose. According to Professor Carlos Monteiro from São Paulo University, one of the researchers who initially highlighted the risks associated with ultra-processed foods, the presence of fructose serves as an indicator of such processing.
The taste combines toasted oats and seeds, but they're finely cut rather than clustered as you'd typically see in conventional granolas. It has quite a sugary profile yet remains healthy overall; however, an officially stated serving size of 50 grams equates to only about 75 millilitres. The packaging claims "you'll discover nature’s most nourishing components within our cereals," though this seems somewhat exaggerated—there aren’t even any Brazil nuts included.
4.3 grams of protein, 4 grams of fibre, and 6.6 grams of sugar per 45-gram portion—all derived from the dried fruit. There’s nothing remotely ultraprocessed within the ingredient list.
The regulated amount for 45g is only 60ml or 4 tablespoons, which makes it more suitable as an additional topping rather than a standalone cereal. Additionally, it has quite a robust taste due to the uncooked oat flavour, and unfortunately, I couldn't locate any Brazil nuts.
As expected, it’s overly sweet with not much substance, providing only 1.9 grams of protein, 1 gram of fiber, and 5.1 grams of sugar for every 30-gram portion. It includes barley malt extract along with various flavoring agents.
I'm entirely won over by these. They are sweet yet not too much so, and thanks to the bitterness of the cocoa, they possess a certain sophistication. Nevertheless, I'd prefer to enjoy them as dessert rather than breakfast.
An impressive 11 grams of sugar, a scant 0.8 gram of fiber, and despite the inclusion of peanuts, the protein content sits at just 1.8 grams for each 30-gram serving. The product includes barley malt extract and is incredibly sweet, making me worry about my dental health as though I had devoured an entire packet of Chocolate Hobnobs—though surprisingly, those contain less sugar. Goodness gracious.
4.5 grams of sugar – relatively high. It offers 2.4 grams of protein and 1.8 grams of fibre for every 30-gram serving; ideally, I'd prefer seeing more of these nutrients in this "diet" cereal. This product includes barley malt extract and has a somewhat higher level of enrichment compared to most other cereals.
These slightly sweet flakes offer a delightful textured crunch with a lasting malted finish. Unlike cornflakes, they stay crispy longer, eliminating the rush to gobble them up hastily.
A serving size of less than 2.4 grams of sugar, 2.1 grams of protein, and only 0.9 gram of fiber for every 30-gram portion. It includes barley malt extract.
Light and airy with a malted, toasted flavor, these tend to become soft quite rapidly. Honestly, they're not overly sweet, yet they fail to provide substantial satiety.
Finally, a cereal offering the perfect equilibrium, containing merely 0.4 grams of sugar, along with an impressive 4.4 grams of protein (sans milk), and 3.6 grams of fiber for every 40-gram serving. It consists solely of oats that have been lightly rolled, ensuring minimal processing. Additionally, these oats provide beneficial slow-release carbohydrates.
Prepares a basic breakfast dish, featuring a nice coarse consistency. I enjoy mine with just a small dash of salt.
*The protein score mentioned is for a serving prepared with an equal mix of milk and water. Without milk, it would be 4.4 grams.
In each 40g serving, you get 5g of sugar, 4.3g of protein, and 4.8g of fiber. The presence of barley malt extract suggests significant processing; this is further indicated by their distinctive shape.
Dearest tiny bathmat-shaped treats, delightfully sweet with an intense malted flavor, turning from crisp to somewhat chewy after about three minutes. They're pleasant but overly artificial, much like starting your day with digestive biscuits.
Each 30g serving contains less than 0.5g of sugar, 4.4g of protein, and 2.8g of fiber. This is quite impressive, considering the sole ingredient is wheat. Although puffed wheat might be challenging to make at home, these products are fairly straightforward to produce, thus they don’t fall under the category of ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
Unfortunately, they are both tough and uninteresting, reminiscent of small Wotsits or Styrofoam, based on how one perceives them. There’s a hint of roasted wheat taste — oddly nostalgic, yet far from tasty. That said, you do receive a generous serving size of 250ml for just 30 grams.
0.3 grams of sugar, 5.5 grams of fiber, and 5.5 grams of protein for each serving of two biscuits—it’s quite impressive. Made purely from wheat, though I must admit, I’m puzzled about their manufacturing process.
They have a stringy and chewy texture, akin to faceplanting onto a welcome mat, and they're quite dull, barely registering anything beyond a slight hint of cardboard. Think of them as the ascetic’s choice among breakfast cereals.
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