Is the only thing that makes cereal healthy milk? Any product that claims it is fortified with vitamins is the warning bell. If a product is fortified for any reason then in simple terms all the ‘real’ food has been processed out and vitamins and minerals are added to fortify the product, and cereals are the worse culprit of this. Cereals are processed and full of sugar. This blog will outline why you should avoid cereal and how you can make your breakfast healthier.
The truth about cereal
Marketing makes cereal sound very healthy. Cereal has added banana, blueberries, strawberries. The packaging looks great, the claims are amazing and what about the idea that ‘breakfast is the most important part of your day?’ It is all marketing from big brands to entice you into an easy, on the go, healthy start to the day. The clever ‘fresh’ looking packaging and the use of energetic, fit images lead you to believe that your cereal product is good for you. When sadly it really isn’t.
Kelloggs himself made up the phrase ‘breakfast is the most important part of your day’. It is a marketing slogan.
Marketing and strategising come into all big brands, there are government guidelines of course, but these can be sidestepped. When Kellogg’s announced that they were going to add the ‘traffic light’ labelling to ‘some’ of their packets the reasoning was to let consumers know how much sugar was in each serving, it was a step in the right direction. This came about from pressure from consumers.
However, there can be up 6 different types of sugar in some packets of cereal. Cereal manufacturers easily work around the ‘traffic light’ labeling by simply reducing their recommendations. If the sugar content is too high, brands simply reduce their ‘serving size suggestion’ to fit the sugar recommendations.
Based on the W.H.O. (World Health Organisation) you should be consuming no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day. And yet here are some scary statistics:
- – Frosties contains 37g sugar per 100g which is equivalent of 9.5 teaspoons
- – Crunchy Nut cornflakes 35g sugar per 100g which is the same as 9 teaspoons
- – Cornflakes have 8g sugar and Sainsbury’s own brand have less at 7.2g
- – Weetabix is 4.4g of sugar which is one teaspoon
One teaspoon a daily Weetabix may sound okay, but if you add a sugary drink to your breakfast like freshly squeezed orange or apple juice that is another two teaspoons PLUS a healthy snack of an apple adds a further two teaspoons. At lunch, a brown bread sandwich will add another 1 or 2 teaspoons. Or how about a Go Ahead apple bake? That is 27.7g and 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Join me for a 10-day Tummy challenge – 10 days for 10 minutes a day using Pilates exercises. Here is the link to find out more
The hidden sugar in cereal
Sugar comes in many different forms and names and is added to all processed foods in different names to disguise the amount. There are over 50 different names for sugar, look out for these:
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- – Barley malt.
- – Brown rice syrup.
- – Corn syrup.
- – Corn syrup solids.
- – Dextrin.
- – Dextrose.
- – Fructose
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I talk a lot about this in my internationally best-selling book, Gorgeous! If you want to make nutritional changes but feel overwhelmed and confused by conflicting information and you’re left bewildered where to start then pick up a copy of Gorgeous!
Fructose from fruit is very interesting, a whole piece of fruit is going to contain less fructose as the water content and the bulk of the fruit and fibre will help to reduce the sugar hit to your body. However, its manufactured name ‘fructose’ fruit sugar keeps the GI ranking down simply because they are digested directly by the liver, not the digestive system. High fructose contributes to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Cereals are not only heavily loaded with sugar they are also highly processed which contributes to your rollercoaster hungry feeling that follows you around all day.
The ‘Hangry’ rollercoaster
Starting your day with a sugary cereal will set you up for a high and low energy flow all day. Being hungry all the time, or showing signs of ‘hangry’ are signs that you are burning glucose and/or not gaining enough nutrients. Adding fruit and milk is the only thing that makes cereal healthy. Full fat milk will reduce the GI of your ‘healthy’ looking cereal. Even granola needs a rethink…
The truth about granola
Whilst granola has oats with added fibre and iron, yet the total sugar content can be extremely high. Adding nuts, seeds and some protein helps but granola also contains added sugar with healthy-sounding names pushing it up as 29g which is the equivalent of 7 teaspoons of sugar!
How can you make a healthier breakfast?
The honest answer is don’t have any. Start extending your breakfast time and introducing a personalised Intermittent Fasting routine that works for you. If you want my help drop me a line. It isn’t complicated but it does have to start with an understanding of your own metabolism, your activity levels and your body type all need to go into the mix to get a good understanding of what will work for you easily. Would you like to get it right?
Your Health Coach: Adele!
It’s taken me years (and loads of mistakes) to work out how to fit in nourishing nutrition, fulfilling exercise around my life which includes my coaching business, my Pilates obsession and 3 kids!
And now I coach busy, successful women over 40 to do the same – via my membership community and The Gentle Reset – and I’d like to invite you to join me see what it is like find out more: read the blog The Gentle Reset
Based on the latest science from the world of nutrition, neuroscience and exercise I’ve created a coaching programme that will create habits that will keep you energised for life.
What results should you expect?
University lecturer and business owner Rachel explains “I am starving, therefore, I must be losing weight, but the scales were going the opposite way – I was confused…” Rachel is a busy professional, hardworking and successful who lives life at “100 miles an hour”. She fits a lot into her day and she was looking for some help with her health that could be “easily absorbed into her day” She noticed she was getting a lot of colds, feeling lethargic, she knew it was because she wasn’t putting the right nutrition in her body. You can hear Rachel talking about how she changed her life click here
Find out more about the success stories click here
How much does it cost?
Your investment is currently £415 but this is for a limited time, the price will be increasing soon. If you are interested in finding out more about the costs of working with a Health Coach read my blog: How much do Health Coaches charge?
BE QUICK this programme, along with all my programmes will be increasing in price very soon > Click here to find out why I am raising my prices But you’ll also discover how you can grab a place before my prices go up, but you will need to be fast.
Gorgeous is your journey of discovery
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