Shredded Wheat is a classic breakfast cereal in the US, sold by Post. It comes in multiple flavors, and its manufacturer describes this product line as "Simple Goodness" and "100% Whole Grain."
But is Shredded Wheat good for you? What ingredients does it contain other than wheat? Does it have any unhealthy ingredients? And is it more or less healthy than popular cereal brands like Life Cereal?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Shredded Wheat cereal to give our take on whether or not it's good for you.
We'll also compare its healthiness to other popular cereal brands to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Contains a synthetic preservative with documented negative effects
- Less healthy than other breakfast cereals in our view
- We do not consider Shredded Wheat to be good for you
Ingredient Analysis
There are only two ingredients in the Original flavor of Shredded Wheat, shown below:
Whole wheat is a nutritious whole food ingredient that's associated with a range of health benefits.
Consumption of whole grains is associated in population studies with reduced risk of obesity, reduced risk of diabetes and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
A meta-study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition analyzed data from 23 other meta-studies on the effects of whole grain consumption.
The researchers concluded:
"Overall findings are encouraging for a positive effect of whole grain consumption on certain diseases, especially highly prevalent metabolic diseases."
However, we consider sprouted grains to be healthier than unsprouted grains, and we'll explain why later in this article.
BHT is a synthetic preservative that has a metabolite described in at least one clinical trial as a "tumor promoter," as we documented in our review of healthy cereal brands.
Overall, we do not consider Shredded Wheat to be good for you, given the inclusion of BHT.
There are many cereal brands on the market which are preservative-free.
Shredded Wheat vs. Popular Cereal Brands
Here's how Shredded Wheat compares to other popular cereal brands in terms of healthiness, in our opinion:
Life Cereal
Contains refined sugar and synthetic vitamin additives. However, Life Cereal is free of synthetic preservatives.
Winner: Life Cereal
Magic Spoon Cereal
The most popular keto-friendly cereal brand, Magic Spoon contains natural flavors (an ingredient we recommend avoiding) but is preservative-free.
Winner: Magic Spoon
Kix Cereal
Very similar ingredient list to Life Cereal. Contains refined sugar and synthetic vitamin additives, but free of synthetic preservatives.
Winner: Kix Cereal
Our Healthy Cereal Pick
Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Cereal is the healthiest cereal brand in our opinion, and features entirely sprouted grains like organic sprouted wheat, organic sprouted barley and organic sprouted millet.
A Harvard Health review found that sprouted grains have more bioavailable nutrients than unsprouted grains, and a medical review published in the Nutrients journal found that:
“the amount of anti-nutritional factors…decreases significantly” when grains are sprouted.
Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin cereal is naturally sweetened with organic raisins, which are shown in medical research to support cardiovascular health and gut function.
There are no questionable additive ingredients in this product, and it's rich in naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals.
