10 Most Sugary Cereals: % Sugar By Weight
By: Keith
David Mackay, CEO of Kellogg’s, says “I don’t understand why there’s so much negativity” when asked about the healthfulness of his kid cereals. Well, maybe because you’re top selling kid cereals are literally half full of sugar. Now, I’m not an expert on breakfast cereals so maybe loading half of the stuff up with sugar isn’t as bad as it seems. Somehow I think it’s just as bad as it seems. Add the amount of sugar to the amount of sodium and other preservative type junk they put into these things and you’re looking at tiny little bits of candy bars, not a nutritious breakfast. For anybody interested in looking up their favorite cereal and seeing how it compares to other cereals, there’s this website.
I looked up my favorite cereal, Post Grape Nuts, and was pleased to find it scored pretty well. The only part that wasn’t so great was that it has 500mg of sodium per every 100g. At least it doesn’t have any of the Yellow 5 or Red 40 or Blue whatever in it (they cause mental problems in kids). Go ahead and look up your favorites. Any score over 60 (by their scoring system) is good. Under 50 is bad. Honey Nut Cheerios scored a 44.
10 Most Sugary Cereals:
Honey Smacks 56%
Marshmallow Froot Loops 53%
Post Golden Crisp 50%
Captain Crunch Crunch Berries 46%
Cocoa Puffs 44%
Count Chocula 44%
Corn Pops 41%
Froot Loops 41%
Reese’s Puffs 41%
Lucky Charms 41%
Related posts:
I’ve got a friend that ate Frosted Flakes (Tony Tiger)LOL!! Every morning when we were in school BUT!!! He added two spoons full of sugar and he would drink the milk and I had another friend that was alergic to milk so he ate his Captain Crunch with Kool Aid and a spoon of sugar so I guess even if it’s not already jacked up with sugar some people can find a way to do it themselves…. LOL!!!
STLDADDY: That would make my head explode!
Kellogg’s shouldn’t have dropped Michael Phelps because stoners are a big consumer group for their product.
Mom: Stoners should have a lobbying group to pressure Hostess and Kellogs for more easily opened packages!
Sigh
Glad Frosted Mini Wheats isn’t near the top of the list. It’s the one cereal the boys and I can agree on!
.-= Sean Polay´s last blog ..Morning victory comes from turning routine into a game =-.
Sean: I give the boys cheerios and I eat grape nuts. Like Daddy Forever said though, the sodium content bothers me a little. I love mini wheats too
Interesting stuff, a little surprising about Honey Nut Cheerios. Little man gets those every once in a while when he tires of oatmeal and I don’t have any homemade banana pancakes in reserve.
.-= PJ Mullen´s last blog ..Separation Anxiety =-.
PJ: I was so disappointed by the honey nut cheerios news. I thought I was really doing it right. But, I suppose I could have guessed that it wasn’t as great as I thought it was just by the fact that it’s in a box and is marketed to kids. Oh, well. I still buy it sometimes because it tastes so good.
Until I started looking at labels because of my high blood pressure, I was not aware of all the sodium in cereals. When in comes to cereals, those heart check marks are almost useless. 480mg of sodium for one serving of cereal is too high because most adults eat more than one serving. Eat two servings in the morning and you’ve already consumed about 40% of the recommended amount of sodium.
.-= Daddy Forever´s last blog ..Postcard Printing Giveaway =-.
Ken: The sodium was something that took me by surprise too. I thought “what could possibly be wrong with Grape Nuts?” Well, I guess nothing — except sodium. I cook most of my own food to keep sodium down, but cereal is not a source I ever thought of.
Wow… I did not buy cereal last time i went to the store. My kids are complaining bitterly, but I just keep thinking … there has to be simple, NUTRITIOUS and filling breakfast options out there which don’t include loading them up on overly processed grains, sugar, sodium and preservatives. The only problem with non sugary cereals is that they want to add sugar to them, with oatmeal .. they want to add sugar, chocolate, brown sugar, honey, etc. … with whole grain bagels.. they want to add all sorts of stuff. I have started encouraging them to eat fruit and yogurt with maybe some almonds or walnuts for breakfast. Can you write an article on breakfasts which require little time for preparation, but are healthy and feasible for those of us with large families? (Currently and for the indefinite future have 8 kids in the house.) Thanks!
Joan: That’s a common problem in our house too. I buy the kids cheerios and they slap honey all over it.
The only way I can avoid that is to regulate the honey usage myself. But, I’ll research some healthy breakfast options and report back what I find.
Oh.. if you write that article.. please include items we can make ahead and possibly freeze or just save for the following day. You rock! Thanks!
Fortunately, my kids were never that into cereals. They like the sugary ones, but we didn’t typically have them around. Cheerios, or wheat toast, or even hash browns on a quick drive-thru McDonald’s on the way to school. To me, it seemed preferable (though you may tell me otherwise).
.-= BigLittleWolf´s last blog ..Failure to thrive =-.
Wolf: After what I’ve learned about most cereals this week, I suddenly realize that McDonalds might not be as bad as I previously thought (at least by comparison).
I really had always looked at other things when buying cereals. My kids like the crap cereals. I tend to like the healthier brands. Most cereals are on the bad list in my house. I saw a few of the lousy ones on my most tasty list which I usually buy when I’m craving junk. It must be a craving for the dyes, sugars or something. Nice post.