On Healthy Living

We’ve all heard or read it by now: having breakfast is part of a healthy lifestylen whether we’re looking to lose weight or not, and will contribute to jumpstarting your metabolism after 8 or 9 long hours of fasting–certainly not the contrary! And for lots of people, myself included, cereals are an easy, convenient, yummy way of having a proper breakfast: good, whole grains will fill you up until late in the morning, provide you with much needed fiber, and prevent you from experiencing the nasty insuline-crash that makes so many people tired and cranky come 10 or 11 am.

But there is cereal and cereal, and what looks, sounds and tastes healthy may not always be so, no matter how many times the words “Whole Grain”, “Improved mix” or “Reduced Sugar” are stamped on the packaging. Let’s take what we often call ‘cereals for kids’. It’s for kids, right, so it must be full of nutrients and of positive little things? Well, not so much. In fact, both from studies and from personal experience, I now know that this kind of cereals is probably the worst we can feed ourselves (and our poor kids, come to think of it). Even the so-called ‘reduced sugar’ variety brings just as many calories as its high-sugar equivalent. Simply enough, sugars in it are replaced with… other refined carbs, nothing else. One just has to check the nutrition labels more closely to see that oh so small, but also so annoying change. Sugar or other refined carbs, isn’t that refined anyway in the end?

No need to say that it’s not worth it. Fortunately, there are truly healthier alternatives out there. Oatmeal, for instance–in spite of its reputation of bland food, a few blueberries or other fruits will already liven it up a lot. Or simple All Bran’s (290 kcal for 100g and plenty of fiber, according to what my box says, and in any case better than some cereal made of more sugar and chocolate than real wheat). And although I haven’t found this brand where I live, which means I couldn’t test it by myself, Kashi cereals are a good pick too. Basically, anything that is whole will be ten times better than what isn’t, even if you may feel that the difference in caloric intake is not that much perceptible to start with.

Also, make sure that your cereals contain enough fiber (5 grams or more per serving) and protein, and not too much sugar. Be on the look-out for whole wheat or wheat bran, to make sure it is as unprocessed as possible. Again, if you have the slightest doubt, read the label to make sure. And avoid hydrogenated oils like the plague (trans fats ahoy!).

No matter what your choices will be, I hope you’ll enjoy your really improved breakfasts as much as I enjoy mine.

Yzabel wrote this on July 23rd, 2007 and filed it under Healthy Living |