Cereal Killers! The scoop on breakfast cereals

With the childhood obesity rate at a staggering high, we need to take a step back and find out what we are feeding our children to cause such a preventable epidemic.

One of the many dietary culprits is breakfast cereal.

 It may taste Grrrrrreat! but it is FILLED with sugary sugar.

This isn't a big surprise. We've tasted the "fun" cereals with the cute cartoon character on the box. You can taste the piles of sugar. Spoon fulls of it. Some have as much or more sugar than a bowl of ice cream!. We wouldn't dream of giving our kids ice cream or cake for breakfast, right?



In fact, Cocoa Puffs and Cap'n Crunch contain 44% sugar by weight, and Honey Smacks contains a whopping 56% sugar by weight!!!

Do you want to see where your favorite cereal stands on the sugar scale? click HERE for an expanded list.


Kellogg's and other top breakfast cereal companies spend loads of money every year on advertisements to convince parents that cereal is a healthy breakfast. Don't listen to them!!!
A diet that is high in sugar is anything but healthy!

No matter how fun and tasty they look, don't add sugar cereals to your shopping cart. Always check the labels to see just how much sugar is in each serving, and how big the servings are.  11 grams of sugars = approx.1 teaspoon.  Try to find cereals that contain less than a teaspoon of sugar per serving, and always check the serving size.

Cocoa Krispies has about 3 Tablespoons of sugar per serving. And that is for a serving of about 3/4 cup. Who eats just 3/4 cup of cereal?


According to Cereal FACTS (Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score), 10 worst breakfast cereals based on nutrition score are:

1. Kellogg - Corn Pops (or Pops) - Chocolate Peanut Butter
2. Quaker - Cap'n Crunch - w/ Crunchberries
3. Kellogg - Special K - Chocolatey Delight
4. Kellogg - Special K - Blueberry
5. General Mills - Reese's Puffs
6. General Mills - Fiber One - Caramel Delight
7. Kellogg - Cocoa Krispies - Choconilla
8. General Mills - Golden Grahams
9. General Mills - Cinnamon Toast Crunch
10. Kellogg - Corn Pops

I can't believe that two of the so-called "healthy" Special K cereals made it on this list! Shocking!



So your family LOVES cereal. What do you do? How do you choose a cereal that is good for them?
Dr. Sears from "The Doctors" has a list of helpful tips on his site AskDrSears.com


With this amount of sugar being fed to our children every day, it's no wonder there is a childhood obesity epidemic. And not only are they getting sugar for breakfast but the more sugar they eat the more they want.
It becomes a viscous cycle.

We, as parents, need to intervene and regulate the amount of sugar that our children are eating for their health's sake. High sugar diets have been said to cause type 2 diabetes, obesity, hyperactivity in children, and sugar can suppress your immune system and break down your defenses against infectious diseases.


As a teenager, remember my dad trying convince me that sugar cereals weren't all they were cracked up to be. He told me that even though the box said it was a good source of iron, the iron wasn't in a form our bodies could absorb. He poured a box of some sweet sugar- laden cereal onto a cookie sheet and ran a strong magnet over it. Sure enough, there were iron shavings in our cereal.
I wish I could remember the name of the cereal because it was a total waste of money and I never want to make the mistake of buying it.


Instead of feeding them bowl fulls of processed grains and sugar, choose something healthier for your child's breakfast.

Here are some options:

Eggs. Scrambled or fried, boiled or poached, Eggs are very high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. If you are feeling more adventurous, try a delicious veggie omelet.
Whole Wheat Pancakes: Preferably made with fresh wheat flour . Add some peanut butter on top for a brain boosting dose of protein. Another great pancake topper is low-sugar yogurt and fruit. Your kids will love this healthy option.
Oatmeal. Not the sugary stuff in the little paper packages, (even though my kids love those.) Make it from scratch, using natural sweeteners, like honey or agave nectar,  and fresh or frozen fruit. Oatmeal is full of soluble fiber so it's good for your heart and your digestive system.
Smoothies- We love ours with Soymilk, frozen and fresh fruit and, scoop of low-sugar protein powder, and spinach. This is a great way to get a nutrient boost first thing in the morning.
Fresh Fruit - Fruit is easy on your digestive system and it is full of nutrients. Pair it with protein rich foods like eggs or peanut butter wheat toast to keep your child going strong all morning long.