{"id":604402417970,"title":"What's the Healthiest Cereal? An RD Answers","created_at":"2022-11-17T23:54:39-05:00","body_html":"\u003cscript type=\"application\/ld+json\"\u003e\/\/ \u003c![CDATA[\n{\n \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n \"@type\": \"Article\",\n \"headline\": \"What's the Healthiest Cereal? An RD Answers\",\n \"keywords\": \"healthiest cereal, healthiest cereals, what is the healthiest cereal, healthiest breakfast cereals, healthiest cereal to eat, healthiest breakfast cereal\",\n \"description\": \"Our RD and research team share the three healthiest cereal brands. We explain what makes a cereal healthy or unhealthy and document some of the unhealthy ingredients in commercial cereal brands.\",\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/illuminatelabs.org\/blogs\/health\/healthiest-cereal\",\n\"author\": {\n \"@type\": \"Person\",\n \"name\": \"Calloway Cook\",\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/illuminatelabs.org\/pages\/calloway-cook\",\n \"sameAs\": \"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/calloway-cook\/\",\n \"jobTitle\": \"President\",\n \"knowsAbout\": \"entrepreneurship, dietary supplements, herbal supplements, eCommerce, medical research\",\n \"alumniOf\": {\n \"@type\": \"EducationalOrganization\",\n \"name\": \"S.I. 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Many cereal brands market themselves as healthy, but marketing claims are often a stretch of the truth.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIs cereal even healthy in general? What makes cereal healthy or unhealthy? Are the healthiest brands necessarily more expensive? And do healthier cereals taste worse?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIn this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we give our take on what makes a cereal healthy or not and share the cereal brands that we would recommend to health-conscious consumers, as well as why we recommend them.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat Makes Cereal Healthy or Unhealthy?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eEverything in health exists on a spectrum, but our position is that as a general rule, food products made entirely of whole foods are healthier than food products that contain synthetic additive ingredients.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhether or not we recommend a food product depends more on what it \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003edoesn’t have\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e than what it \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003edoes have\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e Whether a cereal brand uses oat flour or millet flour as the base ingredient doesn’t matter much from a health perspective, but whether it contains added sugar or artificial dye does.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWe know from medical research, and it seems logical, that synthetic additive ingredients are not ideal for human health, so we will only recommend cereal brands containing entirely whole foods ingredients and free of added sugar.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eSince we know \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/15598276211018159\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003efrom clinical studies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e that a whole foods diet is associated with improved health, it seems obvious that a cereal containing entirely whole food ingredients is a healthier option than a cereal with processed industrial ingredients that is low in nutrition and contains questionable additives like processed cane sugar, artificial dye and preservatives. This is how we will base our ratings.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eHealthiest Cereal #1 - Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0047\/1524\/9737\/files\/Ezekiel_Cereal_Image.png?v=1668748700\" alt=\"\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eEzekiel is the healthiest cereal brand in our opinion, and features entirely sprouted grains like \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eorganic sprouted wheat\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eorganic sprouted barley\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eorganic sprouted millet\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eA Harvard Health \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/blog\/sprouted-grains-nutritious-regular-whole-grains-2017110612692\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ereview\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e found that sprouted grains have more bioavailable nutrients than unsprouted grains, and a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6413227\/\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003emedical review\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e published in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eNutrients\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e journal found that “the amount of anti-nutritional factors…decreases significantly” when grains are sprouted.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMaking food products from sprouted grains takes longer, and so is discouraged by many commercial cereal brands, but this more closely resembles the process that humans evolved to prepare grain products for consumption.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eRather than processed white sugar, Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin cereal is naturally sweetened with organic raisins, which are shown \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7019280\/\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ein medical research\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e to improve cardiovascular health and gut function.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThere are no questionable additive ingredients in this product at all. Every ingredient is a whole food, and due to the nutrient density of the grains, it’s rich in vitamins and minerals, providing 15% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of thiamin, 15% RDA of niacin, 15% RDA of magnesium and more.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eInterested consumers can check out Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Cereal \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca rel=\"sponsored\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3hI95Ps\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eat this link\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e to the product’s Amazon listing. It’s cheapest when purchased in bulk.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eHealthiest Cereal #2 - One Degree Cereal\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0047\/1524\/9737\/files\/One_Degree_Cereal_Image.png?v=1668748714\" alt=\"\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOne Degree Cereal is another brand that makes sprouted cereal. The product contains \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eorganic sprouted whole grain brown rice\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e as the main ingredient, so it may be a good option for consumers that are gluten-free and can’t try Ezekiel products due to the wheat.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eRather than artificial flavoring, this cereal is naturally flavored with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eorganic cacao\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e which is unsweetened cocoa bean. It’s sweetened with organic coconut sugar, which was shown in a 2020 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7174220\/\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003emedical review\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e to be significantly more nutrient-rich than processed white sugar. The study authors even described coconut sugar as “a better potential source for production of healthier sugar.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOne Degree Cereal does contain \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003evitamin E\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e as a natural preservative, and while we typically don’t recommend products with added vitamins and minerals, there’s such a small amount of vitamin E included that it’s not even included in the individual nutrient listing on the Nutrition Facts label.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eInterested consumers can check out One Degree Cereal Cacao Crisp \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca rel=\"sponsored\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3V8GrFS\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eat this link\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e to the product’s Amazon listing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eHealthiest Cereal #3 - Awsum Snacks\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0047\/1524\/9737\/files\/Awsum_Snacks_Cereal_Image.png?v=1668748730\" alt=\"\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAwsum Snacks makes a “Supercereal” based on quinoa with an impressive formulation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe main ingredient is \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eorganic royal white quinoa seeds\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e. A \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7074363\/\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003emedical review\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e published in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eFoods\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e journal found that quinoa is rich in essential fatty acids like omega-3 (which have to be obtained from diet), vitamins and fiber, while actually having a blood sugar lowering effect (the opposite of processed grains.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThis cereal is flavored naturally with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eorganic cinnamon powder\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e which has \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/20924865\/\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eclinically proven\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering effects.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAwsum is sweetened naturally with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003eorganic stevia\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e. As we documented in our review of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/illuminatelabs.org\/blogs\/health\/metamucil-review\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMetamucil Gummies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e, stevia is a whole foods, plant-based sweetener that has more favorable effects on blood sugar and inflammation than table sugar.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThis cereal is free of any questionable additives. It’s the only cereal product we currently recommend that does not contain sprouted grains, so it may be a good option for health-conscious consumers who don’t like the taste of sprouted grains.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eInterested consumers can check out Awsum Snacks Quinoa Supercereal \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca rel=\"sponsored\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3TMx6Cq\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eat this link\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e to the product’s Amazon listing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eIs Popular Cereal Actually Unhealthy?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMost consumers who have read to this point in the article are probably wondering: how do these products compare to commercial cereal brands? Are they really worth the increased price?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIn our opinion, they are. The ingredient label for Cinnamon Toast Crunch is shown below.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0047\/1524\/9737\/files\/Cinnamon_Toast_Crunch_Ingredients_Optimized.png?v=1668747331\" alt=\"Cinnamon Toast Crunch ingredients\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThis cereal contains added \u003cstrong\u003esugar\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003efructose\u003c\/strong\u003e as a sweetener. We know \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/16366738\/\"\u003efrom medical research\u003c\/a\u003e that fructose promotes the production of toxic byproducts in the body, and is associated with the development of atherosclerosis (cholesterol buildup in arteries).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBHT\u003c\/strong\u003e is a synthetic preservative and we recommend choosing preservative-free foods whenever possible (although we do consider BHT to be a safer preservative choice than some others).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eCinnamon Toast Crunch is also \"fortified,\" meaning it contains a wide range of added vitamins and minerals. As we explained in our recent \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/illuminatelabs.org\/blogs\/health\/kachava-review\"\u003eKachava reviews\u003c\/a\u003e article of a popular meal replacement blend, we consider it illogical to consume products containing many added vitamins and minerals without a documented deficiency in those vitamins and minerals.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eA wellness brand called Isagenix had to recall several products from the market in early 2022 because the added vitamins were causing toxicity in some consumers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eCinnamon Toast Crunch also contains more sugar per serving than any of the brands we recommend.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusion\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThere are several cereal brands on the market that are significantly healthier than commercial cereal brands in our opinion. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eEzekiel and One Degree Cereal make cereal products with sprouted grains that are richer in nutrients and contain fewer anti-nutrients (compounds that inhibit digestion and can impair gut health) compared with conventional grains.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAwsum Snacks makes a healthy cereal that uses quinoa as the base ingredient and is entirely free of unhealthy additives. This is our top pick for consumers that don’t like the taste of sprouted grains (which do taste slightly different than regular grain products).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMost commercial cereal brands contain a number of ingredients that we recommend avoiding like processed cane sugar, preservatives, added vitamins and minerals and flavoring agents.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":49281925193,"author":"Calloway Cook","user_id":26601750601,"published_at":"2022-11-17T23:57:52-05:00","updated_at":"2022-11-18T00:35:32-05:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"healthiest-cereal","tags":"_related:nutrition"}

What's the Healthiest Cereal? An RD Answers

What's the Healthiest Cereal? An RD Answers


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Read our Editorial Guidelines to learn more about what makes our site the premier resource for online health information.

With so many breakfast cereals out there, health-conscious consumers are often paralyzed by decisions. Many cereal brands market themselves as healthy, but marketing claims are often a stretch of the truth.

Is cereal even healthy in general? What makes cereal healthy or unhealthy? Are the healthiest brands necessarily more expensive? And do healthier cereals taste worse?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we give our take on what makes a cereal healthy or not and share the cereal brands that we would recommend to health-conscious consumers, as well as why we recommend them.

What Makes Cereal Healthy or Unhealthy?

Everything in health exists on a spectrum, but our position is that as a general rule, food products made entirely of whole foods are healthier than food products that contain synthetic additive ingredients.

Whether or not we recommend a food product depends more on what it doesn’t have than what it does have. Whether a cereal brand uses oat flour or millet flour as the base ingredient doesn’t matter much from a health perspective, but whether it contains added sugar or artificial dye does.

We know from medical research, and it seems logical, that synthetic additive ingredients are not ideal for human health, so we will only recommend cereal brands containing entirely whole foods ingredients and free of added sugar.

Since we know from clinical studies that a whole foods diet is associated with improved health, it seems obvious that a cereal containing entirely whole food ingredients is a healthier option than a cereal with processed industrial ingredients that is low in nutrition and contains questionable additives like processed cane sugar, artificial dye and preservatives. This is how we will base our ratings.

Healthiest Cereal #1 - Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin

Ezekiel 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.

Making food products from sprouted grains takes longer, and so is discouraged by many commercial cereal brands, but this more closely resembles the process that humans evolved to prepare grain products for consumption.

Rather than processed white sugar, Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin cereal is naturally sweetened with organic raisins, which are shown in medical research to improve cardiovascular health and gut function.

There are no questionable additive ingredients in this product at all. Every ingredient is a whole food, and due to the nutrient density of the grains, it’s rich in vitamins and minerals, providing 15% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of thiamin, 15% RDA of niacin, 15% RDA of magnesium and more.

Interested consumers can check out Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Cereal at this link to the product’s Amazon listing. It’s cheapest when purchased in bulk.

Healthiest Cereal #2 - One Degree Cereal

One Degree Cereal is another brand that makes sprouted cereal. The product contains organic sprouted whole grain brown rice as the main ingredient, so it may be a good option for consumers that are gluten-free and can’t try Ezekiel products due to the wheat.

Rather than artificial flavoring, this cereal is naturally flavored with organic cacao which is unsweetened cocoa bean. It’s sweetened with organic coconut sugar, which was shown in a 2020 medical review to be significantly more nutrient-rich than processed white sugar. The study authors even described coconut sugar as “a better potential source for production of healthier sugar.”

One Degree Cereal does contain vitamin E as a natural preservative, and while we typically don’t recommend products with added vitamins and minerals, there’s such a small amount of vitamin E included that it’s not even included in the individual nutrient listing on the Nutrition Facts label.

Interested consumers can check out One Degree Cereal Cacao Crisp at this link to the product’s Amazon listing.

Healthiest Cereal #3 - Awsum Snacks

Awsum Snacks makes a “Supercereal” based on quinoa with an impressive formulation.

The main ingredient is organic royal white quinoa seeds. A medical review published in the Foods journal found that quinoa is rich in essential fatty acids like omega-3 (which have to be obtained from diet), vitamins and fiber, while actually having a blood sugar lowering effect (the opposite of processed grains.

This cereal is flavored naturally with organic cinnamon powder which has clinically proven antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering effects.

Awsum is sweetened naturally with organic stevia. As we documented in our review of Metamucil Gummies, stevia is a whole foods, plant-based sweetener that has more favorable effects on blood sugar and inflammation than table sugar.

This cereal is free of any questionable additives. It’s the only cereal product we currently recommend that does not contain sprouted grains, so it may be a good option for health-conscious consumers who don’t like the taste of sprouted grains.

Interested consumers can check out Awsum Snacks Quinoa Supercereal at this link to the product’s Amazon listing.

Is Popular Cereal Actually Unhealthy?

Most consumers who have read to this point in the article are probably wondering: how do these products compare to commercial cereal brands? Are they really worth the increased price?

In our opinion, they are. The ingredient label for Cinnamon Toast Crunch is shown below.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch ingredients

This cereal contains added sugar and fructose as a sweetener. We know from medical research that fructose promotes the production of toxic byproducts in the body, and is associated with the development of atherosclerosis (cholesterol buildup in arteries).

BHT is a synthetic preservative and we recommend choosing preservative-free foods whenever possible (although we do consider BHT to be a safer preservative choice than some others).

Cinnamon Toast Crunch is also "fortified," meaning it contains a wide range of added vitamins and minerals. As we explained in our recent Kachava reviews article of a popular meal replacement blend, we consider it illogical to consume products containing many added vitamins and minerals without a documented deficiency in those vitamins and minerals.

A wellness brand called Isagenix had to recall several products from the market in early 2022 because the added vitamins were causing toxicity in some consumers.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch also contains more sugar per serving than any of the brands we recommend.

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Conclusion

There are several cereal brands on the market that are significantly healthier than commercial cereal brands in our opinion. 

Ezekiel and One Degree Cereal make cereal products with sprouted grains that are richer in nutrients and contain fewer anti-nutrients (compounds that inhibit digestion and can impair gut health) compared with conventional grains.

Awsum Snacks makes a healthy cereal that uses quinoa as the base ingredient and is entirely free of unhealthy additives. This is our top pick for consumers that don’t like the taste of sprouted grains (which do taste slightly different than regular grain products).

Most commercial cereal brands contain a number of ingredients that we recommend avoiding like processed cane sugar, preservatives, added vitamins and minerals and flavoring agents.




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