Cereal offenders: How do we get the sugar out of breakfast? | Grist:
Photo: Chris Metcalf
Raise your hand if you serve your kids a bowl of Twinkies for breakfast. Or perhaps they prefer a few cookies instead? According to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) new report on children's cereals, that's effectively what millions of kids are eating in the morning.
Indeed, the amount of sugar in many popular brands of cereals is astonishing: Kellogg's Honey Smacks is 56 percent sugar by weight. One cup of the stuff has more sugar than a Hostess Twinkie, says the report, while "a cup of any of 44 other children's cereals has more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies."
EWG's 10 worst cereals, with Honey Smacks as No. 1, include:
Post Golden Crisp -- 51.9 percent sugar
Kellogg's Froot Loops Marshmallow -- 48.3 percent sugar
Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's OOPS! All Berries -- 46.9 percent sugar
Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch Original -- 44.4 percent sugar
Quaker Oats Oh!s -- 44.4 percent sugar
Kellogg's Smorz -- 43.3 percent sugar
Kellogg's Apple Jacks -- 42.9 percent sugar
Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries -- 42.3 percent sugar
Kellogg's Froot Loops Original -- 41.4 percent sugar
A while back, in a post called "In defense of candy," I observed that the problem with our food system isn't the obvious treats like candy; after all, "the typical American gets only 6 percent of their added sugar from candy." The real problem is the "candification" of our food system. And this report from EWG provides even more evidence. While many Grist readers probably don't serve their children sweetened breakfast cereal, millions of Americans do, and they are blitzed by billions of dollars in advertising telling them to do it. Somehow, reading a nutrition label and seeing that Honey Smacks has 20 grams (that's nearly five teaspoons) of sugar per serving does not have the same impact as slapping a label on the box that reads, "Warning: Equivalent to Eating a Twinkie."
EWG also notes that many children's cereals are high in sodium as well; sugar and salt are two of the Big Three ingredients (fat is the other) that food companies pour into their recipes to keep consumers eating after they're full.
So the question is: What to do about this? How can we stop...
Blogger suggestion -Vote with your wallet by avoiding high sugar added products as declared on the labels.
'via Blog this'
Raise your hand if you serve your kids a bowl of Twinkies for breakfast. Or perhaps they prefer a few cookies instead? According to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) new report on children's cereals, that's effectively what millions of kids are eating in the morning.
Indeed, the amount of sugar in many popular brands of cereals is astonishing: Kellogg's Honey Smacks is 56 percent sugar by weight. One cup of the stuff has more sugar than a Hostess Twinkie, says the report, while "a cup of any of 44 other children's cereals has more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies."
EWG's 10 worst cereals, with Honey Smacks as No. 1, include:
Post Golden Crisp -- 51.9 percent sugar
Kellogg's Froot Loops Marshmallow -- 48.3 percent sugar
Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's OOPS! All Berries -- 46.9 percent sugar
Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch Original -- 44.4 percent sugar
Quaker Oats Oh!s -- 44.4 percent sugar
Kellogg's Smorz -- 43.3 percent sugar
Kellogg's Apple Jacks -- 42.9 percent sugar
Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries -- 42.3 percent sugar
Kellogg's Froot Loops Original -- 41.4 percent sugar
A while back, in a post called "In defense of candy," I observed that the problem with our food system isn't the obvious treats like candy; after all, "the typical American gets only 6 percent of their added sugar from candy." The real problem is the "candification" of our food system. And this report from EWG provides even more evidence. While many Grist readers probably don't serve their children sweetened breakfast cereal, millions of Americans do, and they are blitzed by billions of dollars in advertising telling them to do it. Somehow, reading a nutrition label and seeing that Honey Smacks has 20 grams (that's nearly five teaspoons) of sugar per serving does not have the same impact as slapping a label on the box that reads, "Warning: Equivalent to Eating a Twinkie."
EWG also notes that many children's cereals are high in sodium as well; sugar and salt are two of the Big Three ingredients (fat is the other) that food companies pour into their recipes to keep consumers eating after they're full.
So the question is: What to do about this? How can we stop...
Blogger suggestion -Vote with your wallet by avoiding high sugar added products as declared on the labels.
'via Blog this'
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