How To Select The Right Cereal For Your Health

Your first meal of the day is the best one to start off with a nutrition win. Cereal when combined with a dairy milk or non-dairy equivalent like soy milk can tick several nutrition boxes you need to keep your health optimal. Unfortunately, many cereals contain more sugar than a bag of sweets, so it is important to know which ones to go for if you want to hit the gold medal for health benefits.

Firstly, when selecting check out the back of the box at the nutrition panel. Make sure your cereal passes these check points:

1. Less than 15g/100g of added sugar (under the total carbohydrate row)
2. More than 3g fibre per serve or at least 5g/100g
3. 120mg/100g sodium is gold or 400mg/100g sodium is ok.
4. Total fat less than 10g/100g with saturated fat less than 3g/100g

Here are a few common cereal choices, comparing added sugar, fibre and sodium:

The winners are the bottom 3 cereals with low added sugar and sodium and a good amount of fibre. It is important to look at the whole nutrition picture when selecting your cereal. If you have or at risk of high blood pressure, then Corn Flakes are not best option for you. Unless you are wanting a cereal dessert, Nutri-Grain will take your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride before crashing again, not a great option if you want long lasting energy.

You may be surprised by the amount of added sugar in Just Right cereal. Any added fruit automatically becomes ‘added sugar’ even though it is from a whole food. This is something to be mindful of and is a great reason to read the ingredients for the names of fruit pieces or just the added sugar e.g. sucrose, fructose, honey etc.

Take home message: Be cereal smart and select the choice which best suits your needs and health goals.