Breakfast cereals play a big role in childhood obesity. If you pick up a box of any of the popular kids (even adult) breakfast cereals, you will notice that they are high in fat, cholesterol, calories and loaded with sugar...refined sugar, the worst kind. Unfortunately these facts go unnoticed to many because manufacturers purposely draw your attention away from this sad truth and try to fool you with false promises in the form of fortified vitamins and minerals. The truth is these products are only fortified with synthetic nutrients to replenish what they lose during processing, which is about everything. If these cereals were so healthy then wouldn’t that translate to a healthy diet…a healthy person? Breakfast sets the trend for the rest of the day, and it's no wonder why obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes are becoming more and more common in children.
A healthy diet is a must, and breakfast is the perfect place to start. There are many alternatives to the highly processed toxic foods that we continue to feed ourselves and our children. My first choice would be organic whole grains (oat groats, barley, kamut...), they're nutrient rich, naturally low in fat, and contain no cholesterol or refined sugars. If time is an issue in the morning though (these take at least 30 minutes to cook up) than at least choose a healthier cereal.
Organic foods are always my first choice, but organic or not one of the most important things to look for are products with the least amount of ingredients listed; they must be all natural ingredients, no artificial anything. Being cereal lovers (I have mine as an evening snack), my wife and I always have a few boxes on hand. Our two favorites are Kashi's Cinnamon Harvest (contains Organic Whole Wheat, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Cinnamon, Natural Cinnamon Flavor) and Barbara's Shredded Wheat (contains all natural Whole Wheat...nothing else), and both taste great.
So if living healthy is important to you then start the day that way, healthy!
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