Sugar isn't the only problem with breakfast cereals

October 2, 10:45 AMDenver Low Carb ExaminerLinda Duffy

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Sugar in your breakfast cereal isn't the only problem

Consumer Reports released an article today stating that many breakfast cereals are more than 50% sugar.

"The bad news is that 23 of the top 27 cereals marketed to children rated only Good or Fair for nutrition. There is at least as much sugar in a serving of Kellogg's Honey Smacks and 10 other rated cereals as there is in a glazed doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts. Two cereals, Kellogg's Honey Smacks and Post Golden Crisp, are more than 50 percent sugar (by weight) and nine are at least 40 percent sugar. And that's not the only issue. Although Kellogg's Rice Krispies has only 4 grams of sugar per serving, it got only a Fair rating, largely because it is higher in sodium and has zero dietary fiber. Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size earned a healthful cereal score of Good; it has 12 grams of sugar per serving but is also very low in sodium and has a hefty 6 grams of fiber." (More) (Reuter's Article on Cereal and Sugar)

Parents have complained about the sugar content of cereals for years. When I was a kid back in the 60's, my mom would buy cereals like plain Corn Flakes and Rice Crispies specifically because they didn't have that much sugar. Naturally, my siblings and I added plenty of our own sugar when mom wasn't looking and then added a bunch of fruit on top of it.

Regardless of the sugar content of any one particular brand, kids + cereal = sugar by the boatload. While it is easy (and quite justifiable) to get upset about the added sugar, most people completely miss that sugar isn't the only problem. Breakfast cereals are made out of ingredients like corn, wheat and oats. These are all easily digestible carbohydrates that have been cooked, mashed and extruded, making them even quicker to turn to glucose in your bloodstream. How many parents are aware that 50g of carbohydrates is the equivalent of 1/4 cup of sugar once digested REGARDLESS OF THE SOURCE? Even "low sugar" cereals are, in fact, loaded with sugar.

In the case of Kellog's Corn Flakes, the label lists it as only having 2.9g of sugars per cup. But when you look at the carbohydrate content, it has 24.4g of carbs. Frosted Mini-Wheats (scored by Consumer Reports as GOOD on their nutrition scale) have 12g of sugar per cup and a whopping 48g of carbohydrates. In the real world, people eat cereal with milk, and often times some banana or strawberry slices. Plus, how many kids limit themselves to a 1 cup portion? Realistically, your corn flake breakfast (2 cups) with 1 cup skim milk and a banana would be more like 100g of carbohydrates... the equivalent of 1/2 cup of table sugar.

I used to live on breakfast cereal, not only as a kid but as an adult. Understanding the concept that carbs = sugar, it is no surprise to me that my weight got to 280lbs at one point. I am just glad that now I can decipher the nutrition labels and understand that cereal and nutrition are two words that don't even belong together in the same sentence.

Are you turning your kid in to a sugar junkie?