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Which breakfast cereal to choose?

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When you visit the supermarket next to buy your regular groceries and breakfast cereal just stop by the aisle to check the big range that is available. The aisle is full of variety of cereals that claim to be the best to start the day. Your breakfast cereals are available in different forms like corn flakes, oat flakes, puffed wheat, puffed rice, frosties, bran flakes, muesli and this list is never ending and continues.

Furthermore these different cereals are available for different age groups and even gender and different brands. All these brands claim to be the best as they all have various nutritional values on the food labels provided by them. You might choose separate brands or types for different members of your family based on their health needs. But, while choosing these do you ever look into the labels provided? The information provided can surprise you and seldom get you healthy.

Breakfast is meant to break the fast that started previous night till the next morning and to do this we should choose a food which will not satiate us but provide us a good balance of all nutrients.

Thus, don’t you feel that we need to look beyond advertising when we choose one of those colorful boxes with favorite cartoon or any other character?

So what are those ingredients of the breakfast that we need to pore over for a better nutrition for our body right in the beginning of the day?

SUGAR: Sugar is a key ingredient of most of the breakfast cereals. Logically it has to be present to certain extent as cereals provide you with carbohydrates, and sugar is also a carbohydrate in nature. Every cereal will contain some percent sugar.

Ideally, it should be clearly mentioned on the food label as to how much of the total carbohydrate is simple sugars and how much is complex/ dietary fiber. This will help you in choosing the appropriate breakfast cereal as per your need. In young children eating sugary foods can lead to hyperactivity, dental issues and obesity too.

Choose a breakfast cereal that has 5 grams of sugar or less per serving. The chocolate coated or the frosted ones contain very high sugars (as high as 20 grams/serving) and comparatively very little dietary fiber.  On the nutritional label check for words such as   “malted”, “honey coated”, or simply “flavored”. These are just flavored, which means they provide only flavor else it is added sugar……..the actual ingredient might not even be present in it. So steer them clear, and better choose the plain cereal. It is not at all healthy to start your day with very high levels of blood sugars.

And yes if you prefer to make your cereal sweet, a better alternative would be adding fresh and dry fruits, actual honey and dates to your cereals.

FIBRE: Look out for the word “whole” with every grain that is present in the cereal. That suggests for the dietary fibre present in the cereal.

Dietary fiber is a very important ingredient that we need to check on the food label.

It should be one of the reasons that we pick that particular cereal. Usually the ones which have high amounts of sugar in them tend to have low amounts of fibre of around 2g/serving.

Choose the one which has at least 3-6g/serving or 20 g/100g. Oatmeal, bran flakes, puffed, shredded wheat also give high amounts of fibre. Also certain cereals may contain dried fruits like strawberries etc- don’t take them as a real fruit.

Add your fruit which is real.

Sodium/SALT: We as consumers might not be aware that cereals contain salt. In fact the processed one definitely contains sodium. Some of them may also have soda bi-carb in them. Further, if the salt or sodium content is not mentioned on the box it does not mean that sodium is not present.

What should be considered as less/appropriate: 0.3g of salt or less /0.1g of sodium or less per 100g of the cereal.

What should be considered as more/excess: 1.5g of salt or more/0.5g of sodium or more per 100g of the cereal.

FAT: Breakfast cereal usually are not loaded with saturated or trans fat but try to keep a check on the fat content. Choose the one which has around 5g/100g

OTHER NUTRIENTS: We buy cereals to get those extra nutrients right. Children as well as a few of us who are not really into healthy eating should also consider the cereals which are fortified with nutrients such as calcium, iron folic acid, vitamin C, D. Just try and avoid the ones which are highly processed or may contain artificial flavours and preservatives in them.

PROTEINS: Cereals are not a fantastic source of proteins as such. But, we can combine a few foods to make it a better source. That’s probably one reason that we have it with milk add nuts or yogurt/curds to it.

Lastly choose a cereal that gives you around 200 kcals per serving. That is more than enough for one meal!

To conclude, the new upcoming brands are making it absolutely difficult for us to choose a healthy breakfast cereal but, with sound knowledge we can definitely make a better and healthier choice to start our day.

 

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Eat Smart to live smart

the-food-pyramidWhat do you know of portion size and serving size? Often we read a label saying the portion/serving size as “x” amount. But, we are seldom aware of the difference between portion and serving size? You may ask, are they really different? Yes of course! And as a consumer you should be aware of the difference between the two as it may help you in choosing your food items consciously.

What is a serving size?

A serving size is average amounts that assists us in eating or helps us to decide how much to eat or identify how many calories and nutrients are present in that particular amount of food that we eat. For example we buy a packet of noodles weighing 100grams. If you carefully read the label it may say that the serving size is 75 grams only and the nutritive values for the serving will also be provided.

What is a portion size?

Portion size cannot be defined universally. It is the amount we take on our plate. It may vary according to the food we eat at different times. Thus, to continue the example given previously the serving size may be 75 grams but, you cannot really store 25 grams for the next time. So you have the whole pack for yourself. This would be the portion you choose to take on your plate.

Now eating portion size instead of serving size is not entirely wrong. Quite often it may occur that you eat several servings in one portion itself. In fact when we eat out in restaurants their portions may even exceed the servings that are recommended by the food pyramid. Further, new marketing strategies add up. The introduction of large size portions at cheaper price and meal combos or value meals has actually decreased the value of healthy, nutritious and fresh food in the consumer minds.

There are so many fast food chains that offer more food for a very slight increase in cost. Not only in restaurants but also in super markets we choose to buy bulk or opt for various offers like buy one get one free. This is a very natural consumer tendency but buying and further eating products in larger quantities itself is a major reason for gaining weight. It is the easily available large portion sizes that make you eat high fat, sugar, and thereby high calories.

Today, the portion sizes have grown so much that there is enough food for more than two people in a single plate. In fact we opt for restaurants where the dish is big enough. This kind of portion size increase is also taking place at home and is known as portion distortion. The food guide pyramid allows us to understand the different foods that we need to eat based on their nutritive value and also the proportions in which we should consume these on a regular basis.

Based on the food guide pyramid and serving size we can achieve portion control on the foods we eat. Portion control helps us to understand the nutritive value of the portion of the food, thereby how much of it should be consumed. Thus, in order to obtain a balance in the healthy and unhealthy foods that we eat it is extremely important to practice portion control in our daily routine. It helps us to control the quantity as well as the quality.

To conclude here are few tips for a better portion control in our daily life

** While choosing and eating food: Prepare and eat food at home. We tend to eat more portions in restaurants.

** Pack snack items in individual servings.

** Use a small dish which will give less space for food.

** Read labels to understand what a serving looks like. Read the number of serving per packet. Don’t start eating directly from the box. Try serving one serving per plate.

** When eating out, avoid eating supersized meals and other deals that promote overeating

** At restaurants share your meals, if not at least get the extra meal packed instead of finishing it there itself. Split your main dish with your friend. Don’t order separately.

** Prepare daily meals just for the number of people available.

** Don’t cook in bulk especially in case of sweets.

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Shake off the salt habit!

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My food won’t taste good at all if I don’t add salt to it. Salt has become a habit to such an extent that we not only use it while cooking but add extra from the top too. We need salt for enhancing our fruits’ tastes too. Surprising isn’t it??

Salt namely Sodium chloride contains 40% of sodium in it. We add this salt to most of our foods/recipes and thus it is considered to be the major source of sodium to our body. Also the sodium we are talking about is not completely bad the way it’s being projected. Sodium also performs some important functions in our body like regulating the nerves and muscles, controlling the blood pressure and thus the sodium concentrations need to be carefully controlled by the body. Most of us consume far more sodium than what our body would actually need. This excess sodium causes the body to retain too much water in the blood vessels which causes a rise in the blood pressure thereby increasing the risk of heart disease, kidney disease and even stroke.

Our daily limit of sodium consumption per day is given as 2300 mg which is actually completed by 1 teaspoon of our table salt itself. Surprised?

Now give a thought to how much salt and thereby sodium are we consuming!!

So are you thinking that you don’t really consume that much of salt specially because you don’t sprinkle salt from top or not even add much to your daily food?

Research in fact shows that 75% of salt or more precisely sodium comes from the processed and preserved foods that we consume on a daily basis which we might not even consider to be really overly salty.

One vegetable wrap with loads of cheese, tomato sauce and mayonnaise in it can give you sodium for next 7 days. Thus, this is the extra sodium you consume in addition to any extra salt to your food at home.

Solution for this is not of course cutting all sodium/salt out of your diet but let’s try to strike a chord somewhere in the middle.

Here is a salt check and a few tips to help us to cut down our salt intake and thereby our sodium intake too.

  1. Cut down your all obviously salty foods like salted nuts, fried moong dal, farsan, chips, powders, cheese, pickles, sauces, dry fruits, dry fish etc.
  2. Look out for the hidden sources of sodium and salt. Baked items, breads, whole bread too, biscuits, breakfast cereals even if they are sweet, stir in masalas, table sauces, soup powders, tinned fruits, vegetables, canned juices, frozen patties, parathas, nuggets, sausages contain loads of sodium and should be restricted as much possible. It is not always sodium chloride but it can be other salts of sodium like citrate, sorbitrate, glutamate, benzoate, carbonate, bicarbonate etc. MSG or monosodium glutamate present in soya sauce, schezwan and chilli sauce – the main sauces in our Chinese version foods is again extremely salty a very high source of sodium.
  3. Try to google for the preservatives- the E- series- you will be surprised to see that almost many salts of sodium are used for your favorite foods.
  4. Buy fresh foods like vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses and not their remix version.Try to obtain the goodness of cereal from the wholegrain s instead of breads and pastries. Natural foods contain far less sodium than the preserved ones. Start eating the fresh homemade food. Use healthy cooking methods.
  5. Instead of salt, use herbs, spices to season your cooking. Lime juice, tamarind, kokam, vinegar, garlic, black pepper, and cinnamon help to add the flavor. Try making different marinade and spicy rubs to add flavor to your foods instead of plain salt.
  6. Taste your food before adding the entire quantity of salt you plan to add.
  7. Take the salt off your dining table. If you have to always go and get your salt you tend not to bother to get it. You can cut down your salt by adding less to your food slowly day by day. Research suggests that if salt is decreased very slowly it is not even realized.

So finally next time if you forget to add salt in your vegetable, stop yourself from adding extra salt and instead try eating the vegetable just without salt. Initially you may find it difficult. But soon you may realize that what tastes now is the original taste of the vegetable and the spices or herbs that you have added to it. It might prove to be a pleasant surprise to your taste buds too. This effort needs to be taken from our side as we all are aware that excess salt consumption can act as a silent killer in the body.

 

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