When you need a quick breakfast in a pinch, reaching for a box of cereal to pour into a bowl may be your number one option. However, health experts warn that many breakfast cereals can be damaging to your overall health due to soaring sugar content, a lack of nutritional value, and a plethora of processed ingredients. Overall, sugary cereal is never the best way to start your day, but some are even worse than others.
To learn more and discover some of the worst options out there, we spoke to Heidi Moretti, MS, RD, AKA The Healthy RD. Moretti told us that “there are many very unhealthy breakfast cereals, but the most common and the worst are Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, and Honey Smacks.” Luckily, she also gave us some healthy alternatives. Read on for all of her insight!
Froot Loops
If you're looking for a fruity sugar fix, Froot Loops may be your go-to breakfast cereal. However, it shouldn't be surprising to learn that Moretti says the high sugar content makes it one of the worst options for your overall health. But it isn't just the sugar that's causing problems; other unhealthy ingredients make matters even worse. "Froot Loops are the worst cereal because they contain 12 grams of sugar per meager serving, are full of artificial food dyes that are unhealthy for gut health, mood, and may even raise cancer risk. They also contain artificial preservatives that are questionable for safety, including BHT," she lists. Yikes!
A similarly unhealthy cereal you should steer clear of is Lucky Charms, which Moretti tells us "are equally as bad with as much sugar and food dyes as Froot Loops." However, they don't contain any artificial preservatives, which makes them only slightly better than their faux-fruity counterpart.
Honey Smacks
If you thought the sugar content of Froot Loops was crazy, wait 'till you hear how many grams of sugar Honey Smacks pack in! As Moretti says, "Honey Smacks are also the worst because they contain a whopping 18 grams of sugar per serving." Woah! She says all of that sugar "makes them basically like eating candy for breakfast," which sounds like a dream if you're a kid with a sweet tooth, but definitely isn't the most nutritious option for those of us who value our health.
However, Moretti stresses again that the preservatives in Froot Loops shoot them to the top of the list—even though Honey Smacks are loaded with more sugar. That's because, "unlike Froot Loops, [Honey Smacks] don't have any synthetic preservatives." Noted!
Healthier Alternatives
If you love a good, convenient, crunchy breakfast and can't find it in yourself to ditch your cereal habit completely, have no fear! There are plenty of healthy alternatives to these sugary options. For one, Moretti suggests Nature's Path Grain-Free Granola, which she says "contains only whole-food ingredients and no processed sugars." Nice! The small amount of natural sugar in this granola comes from maple syrup and coconut sugar—and at just 4 grams, that's much better than the options we listed above. "This cereal is suitable even for people with common food sensitivities," she notes.
If granola doesn't do it for you, though, Moretti has one more recommendation: Cascadian Farm Organic Purely O's. "It is USDA organic, meaning there are no chemicals used in growing the grains, and its ingredients are all-natural," she explains. "Additionally there is zero added sugar." There's one thing you should note before giving this organic cereal a shot, though. Moretti warns that it "isn't suitable for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity." Otherwise, why not give it a shot next time you're in the cereal aisle? Your body will definitely thank you for choosing it over Froot Loops.
