MY CHILDREN eat cereal for breakfast all the time. Yeah, they eat it up breakfastbut sometimes they eat it as an after-school snack or for what they call the “first supper,” which occurs before practices that otherwise conflict with our family’s dinnertime.
Not only do I not mind that they’re eating what some people might consider “sugary” cereal, but I’ve been known to join in.
Not only do I love my quality time devouring bowls of nostalgia-inducing cereal, but I also know that cereal itself is giving us the nutrients we need.
Yes, “we” (defined as anyone over the age of 2) probably don’t get all the nutrients we need from our diets. Collectively, these nutrients are known in the dietary world as “nutrient deficiencies.”
A study published in the magazine nutrients examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2014. The analysis found that of the adults tested, fiber, folate, and iron (in women only) were low.
Additionally, the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggested that there are other nutrients that we are lacking, including vitamins A, D, E, C, folate, calcium, magnesium, fiber, potassium, and iron.
sounds almost like the label side of a multivitamin, right?
Missing out on the above nutrients, especially over a long period of time, can affect everything from your eyes to your skin to your brain to your bones. But the challenge with multivitamins is that they are one more thing to add to your dietary to-do list.
You know what’s so much easier to take than a pill, with the same complete nutrition, and costs about 50 cents a serving?
Fortified cereal.
Brierley Horton, MS, RD, co-host of the healthy eating podcastand mom of two, is with me in my position.
“On any given day we have at least three varieties of cereal in our pantry, more often than not five. And the varieties we have prepared may surprise you. Think: Lucky Charms, Cocoa Krispies or Cocoa Pebbles, Honey Nut Cheerios, etc,” he says. Horton.
“I agree with this for a few reasons. First, their big brand non-organic cereals are fortified with A LOT of nutrients. (That’s not always the case with organic or other niche diet versions). So, my kids are get a good variety of vitamins and minerals in the cereal, plus a healthy serving of milk. Second, cereal is also often used as an after-school snack or dessert, and I prefer a bowl of cereal over some of the other common snack or dessert options.”
As Horton mentioned, most breakfast cereals are fortified with loads of vitamins and minerals, can provide fiber, depending on the choice, and when combined with cow’s milk and topped with fruit, that bowl of cereal you he has defecated many times. it actually becomes one of the most nutritious and profitable meals of the day, and the best multivitamin you’ll ever eat.
Now you might be thinking, “Okay, sell, how about just eating some fruits and vegetables to nourish yourself and give the same to your kids?”
Because while the recommendation to eat more fruits and vegetables is certainly important and worthwhile, such a recommendation is not only elitist, it’s also naive to the daily habits of most.
At a recent conference I attended in Washington DC called FoodFluence, I saw data presented that examined just that one question: What would happen if ready-to-eat cereals and complementary foods with the cereal, like milk, were eliminated for those 5 to 18 years? old?
The researchers found that if these grains were excluded from the diets of those who currently enjoy them, vitamin D intake would decrease by 59%, iron by 48%, calcium by 33%, fiber by 19% and many other vitamins and minerals following similar patterns. Those are some steep drops.
This is not to mention that the current average daily intake of fiber (and whole grains) is only half of what is needed. Many cereal options can also add both.
I can almost see your rolling eyes now, worrying about your added sugar intake too. “Well, let me reply,” said in my best Samuel L. Jackson voice from pulp fiction.
According to the Analysis of what we eat in the United States, NHANES, 2013-2016, “Breakfast bars and cereals” account for only 7% of total added sugar consumed (compared to 24% for sugar-sweetened beverages, 19% for sweet desserts and snacks, 11% from coffee and tea, 9% from sweets and 19% from “other sources”.
So now let me pour myself a nice bowl of Wheat Chex, one of my favorites, top it off with a little milk and a handful of raspberries.
And with that bowl I’ll be eating more fiber (8 grams of cereal + 8 grams of berries) than the average person eats in a day, 14 grams of protein (8 grams of milk + 6 grams of cereal), and at least I will eat one of my many servings of fruit for the rest of the day.
I’ll also eat a lot of vitamin J. That’s the “J” for “joy,” another deficiency nutrient that’s missing from too many of our diets.
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