Many of you may have read about the recent food scandal to hit the headlines is the amount of sugar in breakfast cereals. Often considered to be a healthy start to the day, in fact many brands are just as high in sugar, salt and saturated fat as crisps or chocolate. The consumer affairs magazine Which? recently published a report looking at 275 different types of cereals from a range of retailers and manufacturers and found some shocking results. Even the supposedly ‘healthy’ or ‘diet’ varieties contain alarming amounts of sugar. This is something that nutritionists have known for some time; a cursory glance at most cereal packets reveals sugars under their various different guises in the ingredients listings.

Which? judged each cereal according to the Food Standard Agency's proposed criteria for what constitutes high (red light), medium (amber light) and low (green light) levels of sugar, salt, fat and saturated fat, and found that more than three quarters (76 per cent) of cereals had high levels of sugar (anything over 10g per 100g), a fifth (19 per cent) had high levels of salt (0.5g of sodium or 1.25g of salt per 100g or more) and 7 per cent had high levels of saturated fat (5g per 100g or more).

The highest amount of sugar was found in Golden Puffs cereals, with Asda and Morrisons’ versions featuring a staggering 55g of sugar per 100g – over half sugar! Tesco and Sainsbury’s fared little better, at 49.5g of sugar per 100g. To see the full Which? chart and check your own cereal out, click here

Most worrying is the fact that of the 275 cereals looked at, 52 were aimed at children, using incentives such as cartoon characters, freebies and prizes. A whopping 88 per cent of these were found to be high in sugar. Unfortunately, manufacturers seem to think that in order to get children’s seal of approval, they must sweeten their cereal to the point that it is more of a confectionary product than a nutritious start to the day. The worst offenders, high both in sugar and saturated fat, were Quaker Oatso Simple Kids (any flavour), Kellogg’s Coco Pops Straws and Mornflake Pecan and Maple Crisp. All were found to be high in both sugar and saturates. In fact, Kellogg’s Coco Pop Straws contains the same amount of sugar (34g per 100g) as a two finger Kit Kat – that is more than a third sugar!

What’s in a name?
If you want to cut down in sugar in cereals, it’s not as simple as just avoiding sugar on the ingredients list. There are many different types of sugar, and they all have the same effect in the body; upsetting blood sugar balance to affect weight and energy levels. Here are some forms of sugar to avoid:

• brown sugar
• corn sweetener
• corn syrup
• dextrose
• fructose
• fruit juice concentrates
• glucose
• high-fructose corn syrup
• honey
• invert sugar
• lactose
• maltose
• malt syrup
• molasses
• raw sugar
• sucrose
• sugar
• syrup

So what do you buy instead?
Buying fresh, unprocessed products is the best way to avoid hidden sugars. Here are some low sugar breakfast choices:

• Porridge – just as quick as these so-called ‘instant oat cereals’ that are laden with sugar
• Muesli – make your own to avoid any hidden sugars or choose good quality brands with no added sugar and limited dried fruit; I like Pertwood Farms, from good supermarkets and health food stores
• Smoothies – blend up fruit, live yoghurt and some ground seeds for a nutrient packed breakfast drink

• Wholemeal toast or rye toast – add a topping which is low in sugar and high in protein (which helps to slow down the sugar release from carbohydrate to avoid blood sugar imbalance), such as nut butter, eggs or baked beans