How Much Sugar Is Lurking In Your Kid's Favorite Cereals?

Sugar is now recognized as one of the greatest contributors of chronic disease, including diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Americans eat way too much sugar. The average American consumes a total of close to a half a pound of sugar per day. Much of this sugar is hidden in processed food. Our total sugar consumption should be much less than that, about 25 grams/day. That is less than an ounce of sugar per day. This also includes natural sugars, from fruit and vegetables.

Blood glucose levels just tell you what your blood glucose is at any given moment, The LabCorp normal range for blood glucose is 65 - 99 mg/dL. That is a valuable piece of information, but it only tells part of the story.

Hemoglobin A1C is a much newer blood test that measures your blood sugar levels over a period of about the last 3-4 months. Red blood cells last for about 3-4 months in the bloodstream, before they are broken down by the spleen. As the red blood cells circulate, blood glucose can stick to the hemoglobin in the red blood cells The more glucose that there is in the bloodstream over that time, the higher the Hemoglobin A1C will be. The LabCorp normal range for Hemoglobin A1C is 4.8 - 5.6 mg/dL. Pre-diabetes is 5.7 - 6.4 mg/dL and diabetes is considered any test score over 6.4 mg/dL.

Food Matters Looked at 3 Common Breakfast Cereals & Their Sugar Content:

If a cereal his a high sugar content, it is considered to have a high glycemic index. That means that after eating that cereal:

• A spike in blood sugar occurs, which is followed up by a drop in blood sugar. Over time, this can lead to insulin resistance.
• Hunger can return not long after you’ve eaten,
• Cravings for more sugary food can also be common.
• Mood fluctuations can accompany the rise and fall of blood sugar.
• When the blood sugar drops, hypoglycemic headaches can also occur.
• Reduced focus and concentration, as well as fatigue can occur with the drop in blood sugar. this can be true, especially with children.
• Over time, this all leads to weight gain.

#1 Cereal - Fruity Cheerios - Claimed by the company to be a healthy start to the day, and consumed by millions in the U.S, Cheerios’ statement to health is based on the whole grain and apparently low sugar ingredients. While they do contain grains, they are highly processed, loaded with refined sugars. With 27 grams being a serving, and 23 grams per serving of carbohydrates, that’s around 85% being converted to sugars in the body, 9g of which is refined sugars

Fruity Cheerios Ingredients: whole grain corn, sugar, whole grain oats, corn syrup, canola, pear puree concentrate, rice bran and/or canola oil, salt, corn bran, tri-sodium phosphate, sodium citrate, natural flavor, color, corn starch, vitamin E, BHT and ascorbic acid.

#2 Cereal -Cap’N Crunch - Another popular, high sugar containing U.S breakfast cereal is Cap’N Crunch. As written on the Cap’N Crunch website, it is said to “start your day with a smile when you enjoy a bowl of this great-tasting crunchy, corn and oat sweetened cereal”. It is also recommended on their site to consume with low-fat milk, or fruit juice for a nutritious and easy-to-prepare breakfast, further increasing your sugar load. With 27 grams per serving, and 12 grams of this being refined sugars, you’re eating 3 teaspoons of sugar in your breakfast bowl!

Cap’N Crunch Ingredients: corn flour, sugar oat flour, brown sugar, coconut oil, salt, niacinamide, yellow 5, reduced iron, zinc oxide, yellow 6, thiamin mononitrate, BHT, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid.

#3 Cereal -Wheaties - “Wheaties, The breakfast of champions” is the well know slogan. When you open their website you see photos of athletes. Perceived to be a healthy start to the day, a serving of Wheaties has only 4 grams of sugar,but 24 grams of total carbohydrates and only 3 grams per serving of protein.

Wheaties Ingredients: whole grain wheat, sugar salt, corn syrup, trisodium phosphate, BHT.

Here are a few tips to improve your breakfast:

• Avoid boxed cereals that contain more than two ingredients. Instead, enjoy boxed oatmeal, millet, quinoa flakes, rice flakes, or spelt flakes.
• Prepare breakfast the night before.
• Opt for a savory breakfast such as eggs, spinach, mushrooms and grilled tomato.
• Boil eggs the night before, if you are short on time.
• Prepare smoothie bags with some frozen berries, banana, and greens, and pop them in the freezer. That way they will be ready to grab and blend. Blend with a protein powder to give a more sustained release of energy too!

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