Wellness Wednesdays: Choosing Cereals Wisely

Wellness Wednesdays: Choosing Cereals Wisely

Cereal companies have been known to use clever strategies to market sugary products to children. Tactics include using celebrities, familiar cartoons and characters from popular television shows and movies to endorse their products and appear on packaging. Cereals are also placed lower on store shelves, which are at eye-level for children.  With so many different types of cereals on the market, it may be difficult to choose one that is fulling and nutritious. When considering what to purchase, it’s important to remember that the increase in added sugars from foods plays a big part in the amount of weight we gain each year. As we focus on cereals today, the following is a list included in a report by Cereal FACTS, shows cereals that are highly advertised and tend to be highest in added sugars:

The Worst Dozen:

  • Reese’s Puffs
  • Corn Pops
  • Lucky Charms
  • Golden Grahams
  • Cinnamon Toast Crunch
  • Cap’n Crunch
  • Count Chocula
  • Trix
  • Froot Loops
  • Smorz
  • Fruit/Cocoa Pebbles
  • Cocoa Puffs

The following is a list of the cereals that are the least advertised, but tend to be the lowest in added sugars:

The Best Dozen:

  • Bunnies
  • EnviroKids Organic
  • Puffins
  • Cheerios
  • Kix
  • Life
  • Hannah Montana
  • Clifford Crunch
  • Might Bites
  • Honey Sunshine
  • Organic Wild Puffs
  • Mini Wheats

When choosing a cereal, aim for one that contains no more than six added grams of sugar per serving or less.

Written by Victoria Luera, Lone Star Circle of Care Registered Dietitian. Submitted by Ashley Wild.

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