Breakfast cerealsThey are easy to prepare foods. Many of them are said to have impressive health benefits.
Really Are breakfast cereals healthy? In this text "What is breakfast cereal", "is breakfast cereal harmful" topics will be discussed.
What is Breakfast Cereal?
These foods, It is made from processed grains and often fortified with vitamins and minerals. It is usually eaten with milk, yogurt, fruit or nuts.
Breakfast cereal varieties is quite a lot. But overall, most are similar in construction.
How are breakfast cereals made?
Processing
Cereals are processed into fine flour and baked.
Mixing
The flour is then mixed with ingredients like sugar, cocoa, and water.
Squeezing
Most of these foods are produced by extrusion, a high temperature process that uses a machine to shape the grain.
Drying
The cereals are then dried.
Forming
Finally, to the flakes; Shapes such as a ball, star, ring or rectangle are given.
Some cereals are covered with chocolate as they shred or swell in the making.
What are Breakfast Cereals?
There are a variety of breakfast cereal options, and some include:
– Flakes; It is produced by processing flours and contains salt, sugar, malt and other added ingredients. This is often supplemented with vitamins and minerals.
– Cracked grain; It is produced by adding compressed air to various grains. These cereals are lighter and crunchy than others.
– Whole grain cereals rich in fiber; are cereals made from whole grains.
– type of muesli; cereals such as oats, puffed rice, corn, wheat; It consists of a mixture of nuts such as almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and dried fruits such as raisins, apples, bananas and coconuts.
– porridge; It is cooked oatmeal but may contain other ingredients.
Added sugar is one of the worst ingredients in the modern diet. It causes many chronic diseases.
Most of the sugar we consume comes from especially processed foods and breakfast cereals It is one of the best known of these foods.
Starting the day with a high-sugar cereal spikes blood sugar and insulin levels. After a few hours, your blood sugar may plummet and the body craves a high-carb meal - potentially creating a binge eating cycle.
Excessive sugar consumption also increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Benefits of Breakfast Cereal
These are marketed as healthy. On the package, "low fat" and "whole grain" or "unsweetened breakfast cerealHealth claims such as ”.
However, refined grains and sugar top the ingredient list. Even the whole grains in its content do not make these products healthy.
Studies show that these health claims are an effective way to convince people that these products are healthier.
Breakfast cereals only healthy when made from whole grains, eating packaged grains regularly is not healthy.
Whole grain cereals
Cereals from whole grains such as oats, rye, barley, corn, whole wheat and brown rice provide the vitamins, minerals and nutrients the body needs. At the same time, these cereals contain dietary fiber that performs various functions in the body, and therefore they are beneficial.
Packaged cereals
Packaged grains usually consist of processed grains and contain too many other substances, making them junk food.
Packaged grains are highly processed foods that contain a lot of sugar and absolutely no fiber.
What are the benefits of eating whole grain cereal for breakfast?
May prevent constipation and improve overall health
Eating oatmeal enriched with fruits and seeds is a healthy option as it contains vitamins, amino acids and fiber that are great for the liver and heart.
Also, oats and other grains provide fiber that promotes intestinal transit, thus helping to prevent constipation.
Whole-grain cereals provide micronutrients such as vitamin A, folic acid, and minerals such as iron, zinc, selenium, magnesium and copper, thereby boosting the immune system.
Contains healthy fats and lowers bad cholesterol
Buckwheat ve quinoa Cereals such as omega 3 contain essential fatty acids. It also provides protein (which contributes to satiety) and dietary fiber. These ingredients help lower bad cholesterol, regulate blood sugar, and prevent diseases such as diabetes.
Helps maintain a healthy weight
Consuming quality food, especially rich in fiber and protein, protects from overeating and snacking. That's why whole-grain cereals are great for maintaining a healthy weight.
Do Breakfast Cereals Cause Weight?
Breakfast cereals for weight loss started to be used as a preference. So do these really make it weak?
No matter what food you eat, if you eat more calories than you spend during the day, you will gain weight, if you eat less you will lose weight.
Slimming with breakfast cerealfor k firstly “How many calories in breakfast cereal"You should ask the question and consume it by calculating calories according to the values in its content.
Breakfast cereals calories It varies between 300-400. If you add milk, yogurt or other ingredients to this, the calories you will get will be more. So you have to do the calculations well.
Make healthy choices
If you choose to eat cereal for breakfast, check out tips to help you make healthier choices;
Pay attention to the sugar content
Choose a product that contains less than 5 grams of sugar per serving. To find out how much sugar the product contains Breakfast cereal nutritional values read.
Choose high fiber ones
Cereals with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving are best. Eating enough fiber has numerous health benefits. Vitamins of cereals and the amount of fiber is on the ingredient list of the product.
Choose whole grains
Refined grains are stripped of fiber and nutrients.
Whole grains such as wheat, brown rice, and corn, which retain the entire grain kernel, are a smarter choice.
Whole grains provide significant amounts of vitamins and minerals that aid the body's function. It also reduces the risk of heart disease and makes you feel full for longer as they take longer to digest.
These foods are very tasty, you can eat them in an uncontrolled way and get a lot of calories. Try to measure how much you eat, for this breakfast cereal ingredients Look at the list and eat by calculating the amount on the package.
Read the ingredient list
The first two or three ingredients on the ingredient list are the most important, as they make up the majority of the cereal. Food manufacturers can use tricks to hide the amount of sugar in their products.
If the different names of sugar are listed several times, the product is likely too high in sugar.
Add some protein
Protein is the most filling macronutrient. It increases satiety and reduces appetite. Because proteinhunger hormone ghrelin and changes the levels of various hormones such as the fullness hormone called peptide YY.
Eating with cereal, yogurt, a handful of nuts or seeds ensures that you eat extra protein and your meal is healthier.
Stay away from sodium
Even super-sweet cereals can contain high amounts of sodium.
Eating too much salt can raise blood pressure, making stroke and heart disease more likely. Choose a cereal with no more than 220 mg of sodium per serving.
As a result;
Breakfast cerealsIt is highly processed, often containing added sugar and refined carbohydrates.
If you are eating these cereals, read the ingredient list and be skeptical of health claims. The best cereals are those that are high in fiber and free of sugar.
