The Sugar Myth You Need To Stop Believing About Cereal

One of the many myths about cereals is that they're all high in sugar. It's not difficult to conjure up examples, whether it's bowls of Cap'N Crunch or Oreo O's, each with 17 grams of added sugar per serving, or Lucky Charms with its little marshmallow sugar bombs and 12 added grams of sugar. Even Cascadian Farm Organic Fruit and Nut Granola, which sounds healthy, has 12 grams of added sugar per serving. It's a myth that's easy to believe, but are all cereals high in sugar?

The truth is that not all cereals are loaded with sugar. Cheerios, an iconic American cereal, contains only 1 gram of added sugar in 1½ cups of cereal. This is good news for all the parents who tote bags of the stuff everywhere they go to keep toddlers satisfied. Another option to consider is Grape Nuts with zero grams of added sugar per ½ cup serving.

If you like a little sweetness in your cereal, try Quaker Oatmeal Squares with Brown Sugar, which has 9 grams of added sugar in a 1-cup serving size. You can also top a low-sugar cereal with blueberries or bananas. You'll get that sweet flavor without the refined sugars or empty calories.

In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration proposed rules that would reduce consumer confusion by making manufacturers remove the "healthy" designation from foods that don't meet certain criteria. Only cereals with high nutritional content would earn the right to be called healthy. The American Heart Association recommends limiting sugar intake to 25 grams per day for women and 36 grams a day for men, and this new rule could help consumers make more informed choices.

Under the proposal, several cereals now considered healthy would no longer quality because of their high sugar content. For instance, Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats may come with 6 grams of dietary fiber, but it also has 12 grams of added sugar per serving. Raisin Bran Crunch has a whopping 19 grams of total sugar per serving, but, to be fair, only 13 grams are added sugars. The rest comes from the natural sugar in the raisins.

The federal rules are still under discussion, but there's no reason to wait. There are so many delicious, nutritious, and low-sugar cereals to choose from. Old favorites such as Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies are not only low in sugar (4 grams of added sugar per serving for each) but also high in nutrition. When all else fails, grab some whole grain Quaker Oats with zero added sugars and whip up some good old-fashioned oatmeal.