Choosing a Balanced Breakfast Cereal

I've begun to read Nancy's Clark's Sports Nutrion Guidbeook and I was glad to see breakfast cereal with milk could be a staple of a healthy diet.

One interesting takeaway regarding breakfast cereals was mixing more than one kind of cereal together to get a more balanced nutrional composition. Most of the healthy cereals I have had so far are lacking on lacking on the taste forefront.

I have eliminated a 2nd bowl of cereal every morning. Instead I am eating a bowl of Quaker oatmeal. This should help diversify my breakfast diet portfolio.


Excerpted from askdrsears.com regarding breakfast cereals...
The grains should be whole (e.g. "whole wheat" or "wheat bran," not just "wheat").

Protein content should be at least 3 grams per serving

The total carbohydrate-to-sugar ratio should be no less than four to one.* This means if the "Total Carbohydrate" line says 24 grams, the "sugars" should have a value of 6 grams or less. That tells you that most of the carbs come from the grain and fibers, not from the added sugars. On the other hand, a cereal with 28 grams of total carbohydrate and 15 grams of sugars would fall into the "junk cereal" category. Super nutritious cereals have a carb-to- sugar ratio of six or seven to one (e.g., 23 grams to 3 grams).

Also look for the "five and five" rule: Less than 5 grams of sugar and at least 5 grams of fiber.