It's hard to believe, but your child's popular brand-name cereal may contain more sugar than a Twinkie. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but what do you do when your go-to breakfast option isn't good for your child's diet and can actually make him/her gain weight?

A study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) of 84 popular cereal brands in the U.S. found that Kellogg's Honey Smacks, which is 56% sugar by weight, contains 20 grams of sugar in a one-cup serving--more than a Hostess Twinkie snack cake. One cup of any of the other 44 cereals, including Cap'n Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios, contains more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies, or about three teaspoons.
 
The last thing any health-conscious parent wants to give their child is a sugar-laden dessert posing as a nutritious meal. Here's what you can do to make sure your child gets a healthy, quick meal in the morning (but this list also works for adults):

• Choose a cereal with a short ingredient list
• Find a cereal that's high in fiber, which will help fill you up more
• Select a brand that has little or no added sugar, but also look out for honey, molasses, fruit juice concentrate, brown sugar, corn sweetener, sucrose, lactose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup and malt syrup.
• Or, make breakfast from scratch with all-natural, non-processed ingredients.

Still clueless about your diet? Call us now and make an appointment to get your diet on track with Dr. Aron.

Source: Medical News Today

Labels: 718-491-5525, appetite, childhood obesity, childhood weight gain, diet, new york, nutrition facts, ny, nyc, sugar