What are you serving on your breakfast table each morning? The answer, which might surprise some parents used to buying average breakfast cereals, is heaps of sugar. Not only are these sugary foods promoting tooth decay, they’re weighing kids down.
There is a good reason the cereal aisle is one of the sweetest places on earth – virtually everything on the shelves is loaded in sugar. From Apple Jacks to Lucky Charms, these staples of the breakfast table would similarly function as varieties in the candy aisle.
The numbers don’t lie. Here is a list of the worst offenders in the world of breakfast cereal, based on percent sugar by weight.
- Kellogg’s Honey Smacks – 55.6%
- Post Golden Crisp – 51.9%
- Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow – 48.3%
- Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries – 46.9%
- Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Original – 44.4%
- Quaker Oats Oh!’s – 44.4%
- Kellogg’s Smorz – 43.3%
- Kellogg’s Apple Jacks – 42.9%
Yes, you read that right – that’s percent sugar by weight! Nearly half a bowl of cereal contains sugar, much to the chagrin of nutritionists everywhere. What happened to breakfast being the most important meal of the day?
Kids need energy in the morning – sugary breakfast cereals just don’t provide it. Is your child having a hard time staying awake during first period? Sugar crashes are common among kids who fill up on so-called breakfast foods like Pop Tarts and Fruity Pebbles.
You don’t need to cut out cereal altogether – just make smarter choices! Be certain to read the nutrition labels to your favorite foods. Parents can also seek out some of these big-brand cereals as alternatives …
- Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats
- General Mills Cheerios Original
- General Mills Kix Original
Of course, you can never go wrong with the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables either!