Parents and patients alike ask me all the time about breakfast cereal. They've heard this doctor or that food activist talk about sugar-sweetened cereals contributing to, or even being responsible for, childhood obesity. They think a cereal with sugar automatically
Parents and patients alike ask me all the time about breakfast cereal. They've heard this doctor or that food activist talk about sugar-sweetened cereals contributing to, or even being responsible for, childhood obesity. They think a cereal with sugar automatically can't be any good. I would differ with them -- let's have a closer look at why.
There's a big push in the cereal world to do two things: Load cereal with more whole grain and gradually reduce the sugar content. Both are worthy actions.
Most of us get less than even one serving of whole grain per day and we could use at least three servings. Cereal can help out there. As for the sugar content of cereal, if there's less sugar, there's more room for whole grain. Perfect.
Now about the sugar thing. Some compand anies have really reduced the sugar content of their cereals, down to single digits of sugar per serving – that means less than 10 grams per serving. Have a look at the cereals you used to think of as really sugary and do the math – they're now lower in sugar.
I'm very happy about this development and this level of sugar in cereal is actually fine. That's because, sweetened or not, cereal for breakfast really works, and there is some really good science behind what I say. Cereal is a great "vehicle" food for:
- Whole grain
- Fresh fruit
- Low-fat milk
Most Americans don't eat nearly enough of these three things and a whole grain cereal with fruit and milk can deliver all three and fill up a lot of your dietary gaps to boot. Besides, kids who eat cereal more often tend to have healthier body weights and better diets. So exhale a little.
The 10 or so grams of sugar amount to about a packet of sugar at the local coffee bar. It is also burned off in about 10 minutes of recess, way less than the 60 minutes of daily activity that they're supposed to get. If your kids are drinking even one 12-oz. can of soda or punch daily, they're likely getting about 35 grams of sugar just in that can. No nutrition there, of course, and that issue deserves a lot more of our attention than cereal.
Sweetening cereal is not new. When I was a kid in the '60s, they were around, to be sure. We also had a sugar bowl on the kitchen table and we liked to use it on our cereal. Probably adding more than we'd have gotten from the pre-sweetened cereal. But we also weren't obese or even close to being overweight.
We moved. We played actively during as much free time as we had. If they could just pack that into a box.