motd Wednesday Dec 28, 2011

[Guest guest]

BREAKFAST CANDY

Wednesday, 28 December 2011

What? Now

tell me, who in the world would have candy for

breakfast? Well, hold on because I've got a little

surprising news for you.

Those boxed cereals you allow your children to have

for breakfast every morning? Well, depending on which

ones your kids have before heading off to school, some

of those cereals contain as much sugar as a candy

bar. I'm

not kidding!

At least 47 brands of

popular children's breakfast cereals pack as much

sugar as a Hostess Twinkie.

A serving size of any cold breakfast cereal is usually

about 1 cup. And with that 1 cup serving, at least 47

brands of popular children's breakfast cereals pack as

much sugar as a Hostess Twinkie or three Chip's Ahoy

chocolate chip cookies. Wow! No wonder some

of today's children are so hyper. They're having a sugar rush first thing in

the morning after eating breakfast!

Now I don't want to name names. But I'm sure you know

who some of those first-thing-in-the-morning sugar

culprits are. In fact, when I was a kid, many of

those cereals' first names were actually "Sugar"--something!

But cereal manufacturers, aware of growing public

concern over the amount of sugar in kids' cereals

wised up. They began calling their cereals "Honey" this

or "Golden" that,

in an attempt to make their cereals seem healthier

than they really are.

So, what's a parent to do? Well, make healthier

choices for their children at the supermarket, that's

what! Read the labels on those boxes of cereal before

tossing them into your grocery cart. And to help you

make those healthier choices, here're a few pointers.

Healthier cereals will have

a short list of

ingredients.

Healthier cereals will have a short list of

ingredients. Their labels should include few or NO added sugars.

Always buy whole

grain cereals for your kids, too. (They're

not nearly as processed.) And oh yeah, one more thing

to help you make the right choice is this.

Cereal-makers actually pay a

premium to

supermarkets to have their sugar-loaded cereals placed at your

kids' eye-level in the cereal

aisles. (That way, kids can bug Mom or Dad to get

them that box of "Sugar Corn Sparkles!") Don't fall

for those marketing ploys! The healthier cereals will

be at your eye level and

those are the labels you should begin reading...first!

Remember, for your children and for you, breakfast

is the most important meal of the day. So

please, get your kids and yourself off to a good start

each morning by having the

healthiest breakfast possible!

Love,