Today, when there's an increased emphasis on eating healthy and when you don't have time to make breakfast for yourself in the morning while rushing to college, work or sending your kids to school, opting for breakfast cereal becomes an ideal choice.
And so whether you're shopping at the supermarket/grocery or being bombarded by breakfast cereal TV commercials in the comfort of your home, making a choice poses a dilemma. Especially when every brand claims to be the best in taste and nutrition. So how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? Read to find out more.
Making the right choice
The purpose of having breakfast cereal is basically about consuming whole grains in our diet, opine health experts. And therefore, the trick is to identify a breakfast cereal that has high fibre content, low in sugar and zero in saturated and trans fats. Here are some things to be kept in mind while choosing the ideal breakfast cereal:
Calorie count
Don't let good marketing strategies cloud your judgement, when every brand claims to be the healthiest. You need to read the fine print to determine how genuine the claims are. What's the point of having a particular cereal if it's high in calories? Therefore, it is important to carefully check the nutritional labels on cereal boxes.
Sugar
Some breakfast cereals are high in sugar content, especially the ones in chocolate, honey and other fruit flavours. Nutritionist Pooja Makhija says, "One needs to check the nutrition labels carefully to determine the sugar content because sometimes, sugar can creep into many ways in the form of Fructose, Maltose, Dextrose, Sucrose, Corn syrup, Maple syrup, Molasses, Anhydrous Dextrose, Pancake syrup, Strawberry syrup, Malt Syrup. Sugar in such form add to the calorie content of the cereals."
Fibre
All cereals contain fibre however their fibre content occurs in varying degrees. For example, oats and bran have more fibre content compared to cornflakes and rice flakes, opines Makhija. Clinical nutritionist Dr Nupur Krishnan advises to opt for oats as they are the healthiest. Next healthiest in line are muesli, then wheat flakes and lastly, cornflakes.
Portion size does matter
Just because you're eating cereals, doesn't mean you can to your heart's content. If you're doing so, you will be consuming more calories than required, warns nutrionist Pooja Makhija. She advises to consume one portion size, ideally consisting of two to three heaped tablespoons of cereal.
Other precaution
Dr Krishnan gives a list of some precautions:
- Individuals suffering from diabetes and those predisposed to diabetes, and obesity should avoid cornflakes, whereas there's no harm if normal healthy individuals opt for cornflakes.
- If you are suffering from high uric acid and that readymade box of cereals contains almonds and dried strawberries will not be healthy for you it can increase more uric acid," she warns.
Source:Times of India
