Stroll down the cereal section at the grocery store, and it might seem like this is the heart of nutritious eating. The flashy packaging vies for notice with reassuring statements: Packed with fiber from whole grains! Promotes a healthy digestive system! Contains nine essential vitamins and minerals! Aids in maintaining your family’s well-being! Always supporting you! Strengthens bones! Helps reduce weariness and exhaustion!

An additional slogan might be: Minimal chance of harm! However, this cannot be said about another popular breakfast choice, the avocado. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents cautioned earlier this week that “avocado hand” – which occurs when individuals accidentally cut themselves while preparing the fruit – has been causing visits to emergency rooms.

This prompted Alan Titchmarsh, Britain’s renowned horticulturist, to state: “The easy way to prevent harm while taking out an avocado seed is simply not consuming them.” In a missive to The Times, he contended: “Cornflakes have many merits,”
Weetabix
and Shreddies.”

Nevertheless, the truth is that their health benefits are questionable, as these boxes often contain large quantities of sugar, salt, and highly processed components.

Concerns have been raised about fortification—those products boasting “nine vitamins and minerals.” While some of these additions might indeed be beneficial,
vitamin D
, where we often lack them during the winter season. However, as Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University, notes in her book “Food Politics,” the frequent fortification with additional vitamins and minerals “is not likely to enhance our well-being” and “brings up worries regarding potential risks from excessive intake.”

Let’s not paint all cereals with the same brush, however. Out there, some cereals offer a pretty solid way to kick off your morning. They certainly serve as an easy energy boost too. The top choices come packed with fiber and complex carbohydrates that release energy slowly. Hence, avoid being a cereal assassin; simply select one that genuinely lives up to its promises.

Surprisingly high in sugar and protein levels; however, these numbers are distorted due to the presence of milk powder. It performs adequately in terms of fiber content at 3.6 grams but includes flavorings and an anti-caking agent, making it highly processed.

For a breakfast version of pot noodles, simply top up with hot water from the kettle. The outcome is sticky and excessively sugary, tasting oddly like caramel instead of golden syrup. Disappointing.

In the traffic light system for sugar content (5.3g per 30g serving), yellow indicates room for improvement. It doesn’t excel much in terms of protein and fiber either. Additionally, it contains several UPF components such as palm oil, antioxidants, and coloring agents.

Delightful, crunchy, and light with a touch of caramelized nutty flavor. There’s a hint of fiber texture, yet it isn’t noticeable enough to deter children from enjoying it; this could potentially lead them towards more high-fiber options. However, it doesn’t appear to be particularly satisfying as a meal.

It’s decent regarding fiber (3.8 grams per two-biscuit portion) and protein, with minimal sugar content. However, it includes malted barley extract, noted by Van Tulleken as a flavor booster, placing this product in the UPF classification.

Gently malty and biscuity with the crispness quickly dissipating into mush. On the bland side. The packet suggests adding berries and seeds which seems like a good idea both for flavour and nutrition.

Added wheat gluten, a complete protein, brings this up to 7.6g per two biscuit serving. It has similar levels to regular Weetabix for sugar and fibre, as well as that UPF malted barley extract.

The texture is different – there are crunchy, nubbly bits that are reminiscent of Grape Nuts, and a faint, pleasant bitterness which may be down to some cocoa powder in the mix. I prefer these to the regular Weetabix.

Low in fibre, just 0.9g per 30g serving, 2.1g of protein and 2.4g of sugar. Contains barley malt extract, a UPF ingredient.

Mildly sweet, reminiscent of honey and malt, with a touch of bitterness that enhances the flavor of the milk—no surprise why cereal milk has become popular. It stays crunchy for a short time before getting mushy within approximately three minutes. However, it doesn’t provide much fullness.

Given that this cereal markets itself as high in fiber, only having 3.6 grams per 40-gram serving is underwhelming. It has quite a bit of sugar content; however, some of this can be attributed to the inclusion of dried fruits. The presence of barley malt extract indicates that it undergoes extensive processing.

Packed abundantly with fruits and coconuts, along with crunchy sweet bits that turn soft within three minutes. However, the officially designated serving size is quite tiny (40 grams equates to merely 100 milliliters or about half a teacup). One would typically add much more than that recommended amount.

6.3g of protein per 50g serving, which is a good amount, a respectable 3.7g of fibre and 3.6g of sugars (partly down to the dried fruit). No barley malt extract, but there’s fructose, which according to Sao Paulo University’s professor Carlos Monteiro, one of the people who first identified the dangers of ultra-processed foods, is a marker for UPF.

The cereal offers a toasted oats and seeds flavor profile, but the ingredients are finely cut rather than clustered as you’d typically see in conventional granolas. It has quite a sugary taste yet remains healthy overall; however, a standard serving size of 50 grams only amounts to about 75 milliliters. The packaging claims “you’ll discover nature’s most nourishing components within our breakfast options,” though this seems somewhat exaggerated since there aren’t any Brazil nuts included from the outset.

4.3 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and 6.6 grams of sugar per 45-gram portion—all derived solely from the dried fruits. There are no remotely processed elements within the ingredient list.

The measured amount for 45g officially comes out to be merely 60ml or 4 tablespoons, which makes it seem more like a topping rather than a standalone cereal. Additionally, it feels quite dense due to the uncooked oat taste, and I am unable to locate the Brazil nuts.

Expectedly sweet with less nutritious content, each 30g portion provides only 1.9g of protein, 1.1g of fiber, and 5.1g of sugar. It includes barley malt extract along with flavoring additives.

I’m completely disarmed by these. Sweet but not overly so and thanks to the bitterness of the cocoa they are actually quite sophisticated. But I’d still rather have them for pudding than breakfast.

A whopping 11g of sugar, a measly 0.8g of fibre and even with the peanuts the protein is only 1.8g per 30g portion. It also contains barley malt extract and is so sweet I can feel my gums receding in panic, like I’ve eaten a pack of chocolate hobnobs. Except chocolate hobnobs have less sugar. Lordy.

4.5g of sugars – on the high side. 2.4g of protein and 1.8g of fibre per 30g portion: I would like to see more of both in this “dieter’s” cereal. Contains barley malt extract, and a slightly higher fortification than other cereals.

These slightly sweet flakes offer a delightful textured crunch along with a lasting malted finish. Unlike cornflakes, they stay crispy longer, eliminating the rush to gobble them down hastily.

With less than stellar amounts of 2.4 grams of sugar, 2.1 grams of protein, and only 0.9 gram of fiber for every 30-gram serving. Includes barley malt extract.

Light and featuring a malty, toasted flavor, these become soft rapidly. Honestly, they aren’t overly sweet, yet they also do not provide much substance.

At last, a cereal with the right balance, just 0.4g of sugars, plus a decent 4.4g of protein (without milk) and 3.6g of fibre per 40g portion. Just oats in there, and simply rolled, so minimally processed, and the oats are good slow release carbs.

Cooks up to a simple breakfast, with a good nubbly texture. I like mine with a tiny pinch of salt.

*Above protein score is for a portion made with half milk, half water. Red (4.4g) without milk.

5g of sugar, 4.3g of protein and 4.8g of fibre per 40g portion. Contains barley malt extract – although the shape alone is an indicator these are highly processed.

Dearest tiny bathmat-shaped treats, delightfully charming with an intense maltiness, turning from crispy to somewhat chewy after about three minutes. They’re pleasant yet overly artificial, akin to eating digestive biscuits first thing in the morning.

Each 30-gram serving contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar, 4.4 grams of protein, and 2.8 grams of fiber. This is quite impressive, considering that the sole ingredient is wheat. Although puffing the wheat might be challenging to replicate at home, this process isn’t overly complicated, which means these products aren’t classified as ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

Unfortunately, they have a tough and boring texture, similar to small Wotsits or Styrofoam, based on how one perceives them. There’s a hint of roasted wheat flavor — oddly reminiscent, yet not particularly tasty. That said, you do receive quite a generous serving size of 250ml for just 30 grams.

Each two-biscuit serving contains 0.3 grams of sugar, 5.5 grams of fiber, and 5.5 grams of protein, making them quite impressive. Made from pure wheat; however, I’m puzzled about their manufacturing process.

They have a stringy and chewy texture, akin to landing face first on a welcome mat, and they’re quite dull, barely registering anything beyond a slight hint of cardboard. Think of them as the ascetic’s choice among breakfast cereals.

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