Best Breakfast Cereals

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START YOUR DAY RIGHT!

Best Breakfast Cereals

 

By Sabrina Rogers

Askmen.com Nutrition Correspondent

 

Let's face it: Guys love their cereal. Unfortunately, not all cereals are

healthy, even though they may seem like they are. Apart from the general rule

that you should avoid any breakfast cereal that turns your milk a fluorescent

shade, there are a few things you should know when picking one out.

While some cereals may seem healthy because they have the words " grain " or

" fiber " in their names and the picture on the box makes them look like they

contain wholesome ingredients, don't be fooled. Many of these are packed with

trans fats (which raise LDL -- or " bad " cholesterol -- levels and increase the

risk of coronary heart disease), refined grains, sugar, and salt. For example,

Kellogg's Mueslix and Post Fruit & Fibre both contain trans fats, while Rice

Krispies and Special K are made from refined grains (as opposed to whole

grains).

 

Read the Label

The only way to truly tell if a cereal is good for you is to read the label.

The first ingredient on the list should be a whole grain, so you should

literally look for the words " whole " or " whole grain. " Next, you should choose a

cereal that is high in fiber; it should ideally contain at least 10% fiber per

serving size, or 3 g to 6 g of fiber per 30 g serving; very high fiber choices

have over 6g of fiber per 30g serving.

You should also be on the lookout for unhealthy ingredients to avoid. Don't

buy cereals that contain the words " partially hydrogenated " -- which indicate

that they contain trans fats -- or that have a lot of added sugar. As a general

rule, avoid cereals with over 9% fat (or over 2.7 g of fat per 30 g serving),

over 27% sugar (or 8 g per 30 g serving), and over 180 mg of sodium per 30 g

serving.

 

Enjoy Your Breakfast

Many cereals are now fortified with essential vitamins and minerals, so you

may want to choose fortified brands for an added health benefit.

Now that you know the basic guidelines for picking out a healthy breakfast

cereal, let's take a look at some of the best brands out there. Although there

are some healthier choices than those on this list, we chose to include brands

that also taste good and aren't completely bland. I mean, come on, that would

defeat the purpose of having cereal at all.

 

Note: Ingredients and nutrition facts vary from country to country and even

from state to state, so read labels carefully before buying.

 

Whole Grain TOTAL

General Mills

This tasty blend of whole grains meets almost all the requirements outlined

above to a " T. " It is low in saturated fat (as are all the cereals on this

list) and cholesterol, and contains only 97 calories, 1 g of fat, and 5 g of

sugars per 30 g serving. Whole Grain TOTAL slightly exceeds the recommended

amount

of sodium with 192 mg, but this is hardly dramatic.

 

Other good stuff in TOTAL, and more healthy and tasty cereal choices... Next

at AskMen.com!