Training & Nutrition - Breakfast Cereals

Hello,

I have been eating Kellogs All-Bran for several years and I really enjoy it as one of my usual breakfasts. However, I was reading the ingredients and the 2nd and 3rd were sugar and high fructose corn syrup. After reading the corn syrup thread it got me wondering.

Is All-Bran, or breakfast cereal in general healthy? It seems to have a lot of unpronounceable stuff in it, even the so called health cereals.

Do any of you regularly eat breakfast cereal?

Are there any quick and easy alternatives to breakfast cereal that are more healthy or are better for you, that do not have all the preseratives and processed sugar ect...?

I love cereal. It is probably my favorite food.

Most of the big name commercial cereals (Kellogs, General Mills, Post, Quaker) have a lot of unpronounceable stuff in their cereals.

When I buy cereal I look at the following:
1. Fiber content - needs to be at least 5 grams per serving
2. Calories per serving - I look for less than 200 and usually buy cereal with about 150 calories per cup
3. Protein - I am a vegan - breakfast cereal is an easy way for me to get a serving of protein
4. the ingredients - I look for all whole grains and stuff I know what it is

I don't worry about the vitamins and mineral content. I eat lots of fruits and veggies and take a multivitamin. I think vitamins and minerals in cereal are just marketing due to the manufacturer "enriching" the cereal.

Kashi Go-Lean is a fantastic cereal. High fiber (10g) High Protein (13g) all whole grain, etc.
Wild Oats store brand "Performance" is great too.

If you don't already, try eating your cereal with soymilk instead of cow's milk.

I've been eating a lot of Raisin Bran lately. There's a new kind with oat clusters or something that's pretty tasty. Sure, it's got chemicals, but it's better than the bagel with cream cheese that was my morning staple for the past 15 years. I eat cereal with 1% milk. I can't stand skim milk, it reminds me of water that's had a paintbrush washed out in it.

Post Great Grains is really good too.

Love that Kashi go lean but I never eat for breakfast.
It's a great snack for me.

I buy a mixture of things and put them all together. That way you can have something really sweet and crunchy (and obviously high in fat and sugar) to keep you happy mixed with some wheat ceral like weet-bix or similar and something fruity as well for flavour. Sprinkle some wheat husks (bran) over that and you have texture, taste and nutrition all sown up. Gold. And use whole milk, really the savings are minimal and if we ride as much as we do, the extra fat counts for nuthin'

Sometimes I go for Kashi Go Lean but it can mess with my tummy, it's super high fiber. I am currently a huge fan of Kashi Heart to Heart, which is like Cheerios but with more fiber and less sugar. Gotta love that heart healthy soluble fiber.

Oh, and I love eating my cereal with lowfat vanilla yogurt. I never did like milk over my cereal, perhaps because I wasn't permitted it as a child, and this is a great way to get a little fat and some protein and some more soluble fiber and active cultures...

You have got to try Nature's Path Optimum cereal. It's organic, no HFCS, at least 6 grams of fibre per cup, often more, full of protein. It is the best cereal I have ever had. I particularly recommend the Blueberry Flax and the Banana Recovery cereal that just came out.

http://www.naturespath.com/products/optimum__1

Other than that, I also love the Kashi Go Lean Crunch.

Fiber One! Makes my kids laugh.

Thanks for the recommendation, I've seen that brand at Trader Joe's I think!

Yes, they have it at Trader Joe's and at Whole Foods...and some other grocery stores too, though they are more expensive at regular stores.

what about honey combs or corn puffs? are they even semi-good for you?

Nature's Path Optimum are great cereals. I eat the power breakfast, rebound and slim versions all the time.

I mix it up to keep things more interesting. Raisin Bran mostly, oatmeal 1 to 2 times per week, and low cholesteral eggs once a week.

I would eat Honey Combs or Corn Puffs only if I was really craving sweets, as a replacement for cookies, candy or whatever. They have a lot of sugar, and almost no fiber. Frosted Mini-Wheats taste sweet also, but are better nutrition. The Kashi products are OK, once you get used to them, but quite expensive. On a budget, your best choices might be store brand Cheerios, raisin bran, shredded wheat. Learn how to read the "Nutrition Facts" on the package!

Why not think outside the (cereal) box? Oatmeal cooked on the microwave is great and is done in 4 minutes. Eggs take about 3 minutes to cook. Fresh fruit with plain yougurt (honey if you need quick energy for a ride) is quick and easy, with a little all-bran sprinkled on it. Peanut butter on 100% whole wheat, breakfast burritos, etc, etc. Breakfast is a good time to get like half the fiber you need all day, plus load on carbs for a morning ride.

P.S. jennings780 knows a lot about breakfast! Thanks for your input.

I wouldnt worry to much about cereals as long as you eat them in the mornings. You'll work off any bad stuff in them.

I wouldnt worry to much about cereals as long as you eat them in the mornings. You'll work off any bad stuff in them.
Yes you will burn off the sugar and corn syrup. I'm not sure about the chemicals, though. Also, good nutrition isn't just about avoiding "bad stuff." It's also about seeking out "good stuff!"

My favorite for the last couple of years is Grain Shop by Barbara's....

Also, be VERY leary of nutrition/serving....Cereals are notorious for varying the serving sizes.

most breakfast cereals are crap and loaded with sugar. Not only that, but some research suggests that most of them probably contain arguably the most dangerous edible carcinogen: acrylamides

Do a search on "acrylamides" and "breafast cereals", and you'll never eat them again.:)

there ya go, I did it for ya:

http://www.google.com.au/search?as_q=acrylamides&num=10&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=breakfast+cereals&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images

this is not just another "hippy/everything cause cancer" thing, this is a bit scary. More and more research is suggesting that grains should not be a staple in our diet, and this is perhaps another argument against them.

from the first link in the search results: http://www.iconmag.co.uk/acrylamides.htm

"A World Health Organisation conference held in Geneva in June this year with twenty of the worlds top food experts, announced that acrylamides are present in a huge range of staple foods which form a large part of our diet and that they are playing an alarming role in our lives.

This, said Dr Jorgen Schlundt, head of food safety at the WHO, is not just another food scare. "The experts were unanimous and clear that this is a major concern he said.

Apparently, experts in Britain are comparing the discovery of acrylamides' action to the discovery of a link between smoking and cancer. Some scientists are warning their own families not to eat foods cooked at high temperatures until more research has been carried out about the dangers.

The best breakfast cereal in the universe is of course... Quisp.

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/89/pics/89ecolonblow3.jpg

Oatmeal rocks. And it's awesome fruit added either before or after cooking, like blueberries or apples or bananas. ANd some nutmeg and cinnamon.

For cereal I almost only eat the Kashi stuff. I usually mix a half cup of four different kinds and then eat it dry. I love crunchy stuff. It tastes great with coffee, too.

Ditto for GoLean Crunch!

I usually just eat regular oat meal (i like it better than instant, and it has no weird, unnecessary ingredients) with some maple syrup or cinnamon/sugar on top. Kashi is very good though and so is Optimum, but they cost more and im a college kid :(

I usually go with Oatmeal, though I also like Cheerios and Wheaties. Those two seem to have lower calories, more fiber and not as much sugar as some of the other stuff. Wheaties are really cheap too.

You have got to try Nature's Path Optimum cereal.

I eat their Heritage flakes and O's four or five times a week for breakfast. We buy their Eco Pak, no box, just a big bag. Both of them have good ingredients, are low in sugars, and taste good.

I don't eat cereals with lots of sugar. I don't really like raisin bran because it gets mushy fast. However ,I eat All BRan flakes, especially good with strawberries. Same with All bran, otherwise it's like eating kitty litter. My other faves are oatmeal, rice krispies,special K and cheerios. And Nature's Path rice puffs. I LOVE rice puffs.

most breakfast cereals are crap and loaded with sugar. Not only that, but some research suggests that most of them probably contain arguably the most dangerous edible carcinogen: acrylamides

Do a search on "acrylamides" and "breafast cereals", and you'll never eat them again.:)

there ya go, I did it for ya:

http://www.google.com.au/search?as_q=acrylamides&num=10&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=breakfast+cereals&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images

this is not just another "hippy/everything cause cancer" thing, this is a bit scary. More and more research is suggesting that grains should not be a staple in our diet, and this is perhaps another argument against them.

from the first link in the search results: http://www.iconmag.co.uk/acrylamides.htm

"A World Health Organisation conference held in Geneva in June this year with twenty of the worlds top food experts, announced that acrylamides are present in a huge range of staple foods which form a large part of our diet and that they are playing an alarming role in our lives.

This, said Dr Jorgen Schlundt, head of food safety at the WHO, is not just another food scare. "The experts were unanimous and clear that this is a major concern he said.

Apparently, experts in Britain are comparing the discovery of acrylamides' action to the discovery of a link between smoking and cancer. Some scientists are warning their own families not to eat foods cooked at high temperatures until more research has been carried out about the dangers.

That could be true if you eat a box aday for 50 years. A fricken bowl of cereal wont kill you,relax.

That could be true if you eat a box aday for 50 years. A fricken bowl of cereal wont kill you,relax.
:lol: yep probably true

Kashi cereals are great. best is slow cook oatmeal with raisens and fresh blueberries cooked in topped with a bit of soy milk. :)

That could be true if you eat a box aday for 50 years. A fricken bowl of cereal wont kill you,relax.


This is very true, the same thing happend to the apple industry. In like the 70's it was found out that the stuff used as pesticides on apples could cuase cancer in lab rats.

Well long story short everyone started buying apples from china and by the time it was proven that you would have to eat like unhuman amounts of apples for the rest of your life to get cancer the whole industry was dead.

Kashi
Oatmeal with bananas/soymilk
Yogurt w/ flaxseed

Yeah I have seen LOADS of respected medical journal articles that present their facts in a bright orange illustrated article called "Turn Down the Heat - How Cooking Can Damage Your Health." Here's an idea - eat everything raw, you'll be a lot better off. And while you are at it, stop breathing, don't you know that oxygen-free radicals are killing your brain cells and giving you alzheimers?? Experts in Britain my arse - probably the same "experts" that write this sort of crap for The Sun. Go back to analysing David Beckham you losers.

Ah well, I was expecting the typical "everything gives you cancer; even sleeping" response, so I'll give the cliched response: "that's what people said when the research frist started coming out about smoking"


dudes, did y'all read any of those links? :)

the World Health Organisation held an emergency summit about it a couple of years ago -- they don't do that every week :p


I dare you to do a "Google" on acrylamides.

Well long story short everyone started buying apples from china and by the time it was proven that you would have to eat like unhuman amounts of apples for the rest of your life to get cancer the whole industry was dead.
For every "toxin" that has subsequently shown to probably not be as harmful as first thought, or has since be shown that unbelievably large amounts are required to be deleterious, there are plenty of chemicals that have been proven to be every bit as dangerous, and some more so, than what was originally touted. Heard of DDT? Yeah, all those preliminary reports were just alarmist.. :rolleyes: sheesh!!

Like they say, choose your poison......carefully

Another vote for Nature's Path Optimum cereals, although, normally I mix up a smoothie with an isolate protein powder blend and lots of fruit because I don't have sufficient time to have a bowl of cereal and mix a smoothie. If I just eat cereal I won't make it to 10AM.

Do a search on "acrylamides" and "breafast cereals", and you'll never eat them again.:)

there ya go, I did it for ya:


Thanks for posting that search. As the BBC story suggested, we have probably been exposed for generations, and it's not clear what the exact origins and roles of these chemicals are, but it's something good to keep in mind.

I think that the poster who compared the scoffing over this issue to that over smoking at first had a good point... we don't really know how this will pan out, so it's best to keep our eyes open about it.

That's how I should've said it -- much more classy :)

here's more about grains and paleolithic (pre-agricultural) eating


http://www.theomnivore.com/home.html

One study. Not enough to stop me from cooking my dinner... You live long enough you get sick... anyone who has studied a bit of molecular genetics will tell you that. Quit worrying and do what you enjoy

And you can google anything you want and you will be able to find someone talking it up about how bad it is for you... hell you can even self-diagnose illness thanks to the internet... what a wonderful thing google is for opening up our eyes to a bunch of rubbish that doesn't even warrant reading...

One study. Not enough to stop me from cooking my dinner... You live long enough you get sick... anyone who has studied a bit of molecular genetics will tell you that. Quit worrying and do what you enjoy dude, I'm not gunna hunt them down, but there's more than one study out there.

The concern is not "cooking", it's only cooking certain starchy carbs over certain temps for a certain amount of time. Fortuantely this mainly, only includes crap food like potato chips, french fries, corn chips, and crap like that. The results were not as spooky regarding baked grains.

And you can google anything you want and you will be able to find someone talking it up about how bad it is for you... hell you can even self-diagnose illness thanks to the internet... what a wonderful thing google is for opening up our eyes to a bunch of rubbish that doesn't even warrant reading... Well, this is obviously true....ish...but it comes to a point where the line probably shouldn't be crossed.

We can also use your "eh, everything will probably kill ya, so just enjoy life" suggestion for smoking and drinking too much, so, there comes a point......

Im not saying that you can go and jump off a cliff and be ok either, but if you stopped eating/drinking/taking/ something every time some clown decides to print an unsubstantiated idea on the internet you would be very very hungry....

while I'm at, do another search on "nitrates" and "processed meat"

:)

Dam, i'm hungry. Lets see i'll have some water and ice cubes.

I love this. The things you are talking about are actually produced in large quantities by the healthy human body. The internet has filled people with so much excellent knowledge, I have realised that I have wasted my life at university and work I should just stay at home and swot up on search engine propaganda. I will resign tomorrow first thing, and get right to it.

while the internet is obviously mostly bollocks but with some good stuff, it's the quickest and easiest way to get info otho an internet forum.

If I had the relevant, peer reviewed -- no less -- journal articles here with me, I'd mail them to ya

Dam, i'm hungry. Lets see i'll have some water and ice cubes. just make sure it's purified and suitably free from chlorine and flouride... :p

One study. Not enough to stop me from cooking my dinner... You live long enough you get sick... anyone who has studied a bit of molecular genetics will tell you that. Quit worrying and do what you enjoy

The NIH, not known for lurid promotion or claims based on a single study, basically repeated the information presented in the article: high heat over time with certain foods produces acrylamide, which is a carcinogen.

Their recommendation was less sensational: keep eating a balanced diet, since not much is known about the effects.

National Cancer Institute (part of the NIH) article:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/acrylamideinfoods
(There is a link on the page to the WHO press release on acrylamide in food.)

This is very true, the same thing happend to the apple industry. In like the 70's it was found out that the stuff used as pesticides on apples could cuase cancer in lab rats.

Well long story short everyone started buying apples from china and by the time it was proven that you would have to eat like unhuman amounts of apples for the rest of your life to get cancer the whole industry was dead.

you guys are probably right but It's still good to keep our eyes open......big business can and do slip all kinds of crud into products just to squeeze an extra buck out, and they are not particularly concerned with long term effects. If watchdogs didn't raise a stink every once in a while, you can bet there would be a lot worse stuff in our food and everything else, and then just a little would kill you good.

And that's not just hippie paranoia, freinds, it's the sad truth.

on another note, I have been reading about glycemic index of foods - probably old news for many here, but to some of us this is a revelation. Many recent biking books are really chaning their tunes as to WHICH carbs to eat and WHEN......based on what I am reading (and my wife, who is a nurse, feels it is correct) I need to change my whole diet!

But then as I have been carrying 30% body fat for the last 15 yrs despite lots of cycling, I guess I knew that already. :(

anyhoo, I'd recommend looking into this for all us bikers.

Bump for Nature's Path Optimum Power, and Kashi Go Lean WAFFLES. The waffles are great and have lots of fiber to keep the ol' salad shooter goin'.

As for the rest of it. Read the Nutrition Info. if you can pronounce everything you eat. You're doing the best you can. You WILL die of something eventually. The idea is to delay it as long as possible without comprimising your quality of life.