Cereals and sugar

A recent report came out by the Environmental Working Group on the amount of sugar in 84 cereals they analyzed. They did not analyze all brands and varieties of cereals, just ones that are more commonly eaten by children.

The 10 most sugary breakfast cereals are:

1. Kellogg's Honey Smacks - 55.6% (sugar by weight)
2. Post Golden Crisp - 51.9% 
3. Kellogg's Froot Loops Marshmallow - 48.3% 
4. Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's OOPS! All Berries - 46.9% 
5. Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch Original - 44.4% 
6. Quaker Oats Oh!s - 44.4% 
7. Kellogg's Smorz - 43.3% 
8. Kellogg's Apple Jacks - 42.9% 
9. Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries - 42.3% 
10. Kellogg's Froot Loops Original - 41.4% 

Kellogg's Honey Smacks and Post Golden Crisp have between 18-20 grams of sugar in a one-cup serving. A Twinkie has about 18 grams of sugar for comparison. This information is important for parents because cereal is one of the quick go-to breakfast options. Some cereals have just as much sugar in a one-cup serving as many desserts. One-cup is not a huge serving, if someone is eating a big bowl of cereal, the amount of sugar adds up even more. 

Some of the best cereals include

1. Kellogg's Mini-Wheats: (Unfrosted Bite-Size)
2. General Mills Cheerios Original 
3. General Mills Kix Original

Cheerios Originial, Kix Original, and Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite-Size have between 1-3 grams of sugar and lower levels of sodium than others. Some other cereals may have lower amounts of sugar, but have higher amounts of sodium.

To put sugar amounts into a better perspective, four grams of sugar equals about one teaspoon of sugar. 

When buying cereals at the grocery store, try the following:

1. Read the nutrition label. Pay attention to the sugar amount in grams, the serving size (they may vary in different cereals and we may eat more than just one serving), and how many ingredients have some type of sugar in them. The more ingredients that indicate sugar and the higher they are on the list, the more sugar in that cereal.
2. Shop for the cereals that are above or below eye level. The ones that are most appealing to children are usually placed at eye level, but are not usually the healthiest.
3. Look for the WIC label for cereal. They have less sugar and must contain iron and folic acid.
4. If your child needs some sugar in their cereal, buy one with less sugar and add a little bit of sugar yourself. You can control the amount and it will typically be less than the amount in the high-sugar cereals. Remember, one teaspoon is about 4 grams of sugar.

For more information, the full report from the Environmental Working Group has more information, including sugar levels in various cereals that were not mentioned above.