We’ve all been put on high alert recently with the news of how much sugar has been added to cereals but some of us are still guilty as reaching for the nearest packet to serve up a quick breakfast when we are running late. To be honest the bright, fun packaging that all these cereals come in doesn’t help the cause, grabbing the attention of the little ones when we zoom down the aisles in the supermarket.
So, with it being National Cereal day this month, we investigated which cereals were ‘a better choice’ to serve over others. The general rule would be to ditch the high sugar packets and go for the lower sugar cereals fortified with iron and B-vitamins as they make a healthy contribution to your child’s health and tend to be higher in fibre.
What is ‘added sugar’?
Free or added sugar is granulated white or brown, syrups, nectars or honey.
One level teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs 4g (the same as a cube of sugar).
What amount of sugar should be in my child’s diet?
- 4-6 years – no more than 19g of sugar each day (5 teaspoons)
- 7-10 years old – no more than 24g per day (6 teaspoons)
- Children over 11 years old – no more than 30g of sugar (7 teaspoons)
The top five cereals
- 30g portion of porridge oats – 0.3g sugars
- 2 biscuits of Shredded Wheat – 0.27g sugars
- 27g packet of Oat So Simple Original – 0.3g sugars
- 30g Lizi’s Low Sugar Granola – 1.1g sugars
- 2 biscuits Weetabix – 1.6g sugars
Add milk or natural yoghurt and a sliced pear/banana to any of the above for a healthy balanced breakfast for your child. Both dairy and fruit do contain sugar, but this is naturally occurring so does not count towards the daily totals above.