Each week a nutritionist from the University of Maryland Medical Center will provide a guest post on healthy eating. Have questions or ideas for future topics? E-mail healthsci@baltsun.com. This week, nutritionist Christine Dobmeier (pictured) weighs in on reducing cereal choices.
Navigating the grocery store's cereal aisle in search of good choices has never been so tough. The options are endless. Here are some tips to make your selection a bit easier.
Head straight for the nutrition label While the labels on the front of the box might grab your attention, the side of the box printed with nutrition facts is where you can become truly informed.
Focus on low fat, high fiber Select a cereal with fewer than 3 grams of total fat (fewer than 2 saturated, no trans fats); and at least 3 grams of fiber. Ideally, it's best for a cereal to contain at least 5 grams of fiber, and less than 5 grams of added sugar. With some of the higher fiber choices (5-10 grams per serving), the sugar content does tend to increase for added taste. Even though such cereals are excellent sources of fiber, try to limit the ones that have more than 10 grams of sugar.
Pay attention to portion sizes Portions for cereals can range from 1/2 cup to 11/2 cups, so this is important to consider when comparing cereals. Be sure to measure out your next bowl of cereal to see how much you are eating. With bowl sizes being bigger than ever, many of us, unknowingly, eat 2 cups of cereal as our serving.
Beware of "healthy sounding" cereals For instance, Cracklin' Oat Bran has the word "Bran" in it, which makes us think it's a healthy choice. However, after checking out the nutrition label, you will find that it contributes 18.75 grams of sugar, 8.75 grams of fat and 3.75 grams of saturated fat per cup.
Not all varieties of a cereal are the same Cheerios is a great example of nutritional differences between its varieties. The original Cheerios is, indeed, a healthy choice with 3 grams of fiber, and only 1 gram of sugar. By contrast, Banana Nut Cheerios provides 1 gram of fiber and contains 9 grams of added sugar. You'd be better served to choose the original and top it with half a banana and a tablespoon of walnuts. Another example is Wheat Chex versus Honey Nut Chex. Wheat Chex is a solid choice, serving up 160 calories, 1 gram of fat and 5 grams of fiber, protein and sugar. Meanwhile, Honey Nut Chex has only 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams protein, but contains 9 grams of sugar.
Consider these nutrition winners Fiber One (1/2 cup serving) has 60 calories, 1 gram of fat, 14 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein and no sugar; Post Shredded Wheat (11/4 cup serving) has 200 calories, 1 gram of fat, 8 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of sugar; Kashi Honey Sunshine (3/4 cup serving) has 100 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 5 grams fiber, 2 grams of protein and 5 grams of sugar.