The Non-Sugar-Coated Truth about Breakfast Cereal

Let me start by saying my next grocery store POP QUIZ will be more challenging! You, my friends, are quite aware of the health consequences of sugar-coated cereal. Additionally, this post is not coming from a place of judgement, to point fingers, or cause guilt. Knowledge is power, and helps us make informed decisions about what we feel is best for ourselves and our families.

We live in a world where eating Reese’s Puffs, Captain Crunch, and Fruit Loops, are considered part of a healthy start to the day. There’s an entire aisle in the grocery store stocked full of these sugary cereals… illustrating the demand is equally as great. Let’s chat about what sugar does to our bodies, discuss nutritional ‘value’ of sugary cereals, and healthy breakfast alternatives.

When sugar is consumed in excess, it is stored as fat, wreaks havoc on our pancreas as it tries to keep up with insulin production, and leaves us craving more and more. Sugar is a powerful drug. Research shows that sugar consumption releases dopamine in the brain, much like that of many addictive drugs (crazy, right?). Not to mention the long-term consequences, such as increased risk of type 2 diabetes, dementia, depression, insulin resistance, among so many more. Sugar is cheap, we love it, we crave it, and food companies know this, which is why it’s so hard to avoid in packaged foods.

Some may argue that breakfast cereals are fortified with nutrients, such as B vitamins, fibre, and iron. There is dramatically greater value in consuming foods where these are naturally occurring. Our bodies are designed to eat foods in their whole forms, gaining nutrient value of the entire fruit (not just the juice), the entire grain (not just the white flour), the entire vegetable (not just the extracted minerals). Just as you wouldn’t put cheap fuel in a Ferrari, don’t consume cheapened versions of great food to fuel your body. We simply weren’t designed for it.

That’s enough talk, let’s get to the action plan. Here are a list of healthy alternative breakfast options for you and your family:

Breakfast smoothies (my personal favourite…more on smoothies coming soon)
Steel-cut oats (or quinoa) with apple slices, cinnamon, and slivered almonds
Omelet (pre-chop your veggies to save time in the morning rush)
Hard boiled eggs with fruit (hard boil several at a time for a grab-and-go option)
Greek yogurt with berries and seed of choice (hemp, chia, ground flax, pumpkin)
Chia pudding with fruit
Banana with nut butter (pumpkin, almond, peanut, etc) and almond milk
Cottage cheese with grapes and canteloupe

What are your favourite healthy breakfast choices? Questions or comment, ask below!

In Health,

Dr. Karen