Monday, June 30: The medical journal Pediatrics recently reported on a study that followed the breakfast habits of teens. American teenagers who skipped breakfast were more likely to be obese than those who found time to eat breakfast before school. The breakfast-skipping teens weighed five pounds heavier, on average, and ate less healthy during the day. They also exercised less frequently, which isn’t surprising either.
Taking the extra time to serve your children a nutritious breakfast will give them a head start in the classroom. Children who eat a healthy breakfast do better in school: they have more alert memories, pay closer attention to the teacher, and visually perceive things better, according a study published in Physiology & Behavior. Eating breakfast speeds up your children’s metabolism like cordwood that stokes a fire. They will have more energy to burn.
Setting a bowl of name-brand cereal in front of your kids may not be the healthiest route to go, however. But first, a little test:
Can you name the best-selling breakfast cereal in America?
Oh, let me give you a hint. (That’s the hint.)
You’re right—Oh as in Cheerios! This toasted oatmeal cereal from General Mills has captured 11 percent of the breakfast cereal market, according to A.C. Nielsen—nearly three times the second-best selling cereal in America: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes.
That’s grrrrrreat!
Well, maybe not that great. Popular cereals like Lucky Charms, Cap’n Crunch, and Honey Bunches of Oats aren’t the healthiest breakfast fare because they are made from highly processed grains, are high in carbohydrates and added sugar, and may contain preservatives. Sometimes I wonder if kids would be better off nutritionally by eating the cardboard box than what’s inside.
Okay, so that’s an exaggeration, but there’s some good news to report: amid much fanfare, General Mills replaced the processed grains with whole grains in their lineup of breakfast cereals. Whole grains are much better for you because they contain fiber and more essential vitamins and minerals. Every nutritionist prefers whole grains over refined grains, which are stripped of their vitamin, mineral, and fiber content during the refining process. These missing nutrients explain why breakfast cereal manufacturers feel compelled to “fortify” their products with vitamins and minerals.
A New York Times investigation into General Mill’s decision to add whole grains to their cereals, however, unearthed information that 28 of the company’s 52 cereals contained the same level of fiber as before. A total of 22 cereals had only one gram of fiber, and five didn’t have any fiber at all.
I don’t think you should have to play a guessing game on whether you’re eating a healthy cereal. Although as a general rule I don’t eat or recommend dry cereals, my personal favorite is Ezekiel 4:9 cereal, which contains the following ingredients: organic sprouted 100 percent whole wheat, malted barley, organic sprouted barley, organic sprouted millet, organic sprouted lentils, organic sprouted soybeans, organic sprouted spelt, filtered water, and sea salt. Ezekiel 4:9 cereal has a whopping six grams of dietary fiber per serving, which is 24 percent of the Daily Value for a 2,000 calorie diet.
Now if the makers of Ezekiel 4:9 cereal can get a tiger or a cap’n behind their cereal . . .