The cereal aisle is a popular choice for infants, children, teens and adults of all ages. It can be used as a choice for various quick meals and snacks, but most probably think of breakfast and cereal as being as natural a combination as a horse and carriage. Personally, I use cereal as a breakfast staple, sometimes with milk and sometimes without. If short on time, I often drink a glass of milk while getting ready for the day's activities, then eat dry cereal or hot cereal later in the morning. Dry cereal also ends up being a lower calorie snack-on-the-go along with dried or fresh fruit.

Now for the question you are likely expecting…what is the most important meal of the day for any age group? The answer is breakfast, and there's probably not a person around who would miss this question. But knowing a correct answer does not necessarily translate into correct actions. Here are some quick facts about those who regularly eat breakfast:

• Breakfast eaters tend to have better nutrient intakes and healthier body weights. On average, breakfast contributes less than 20 percent of daily calories, while delivering more than 30 percent of needed calcium, iron and B vitamins.
• People who eat breakfast tend to consume less fat and cholesterol and more fiber over the course of their day.
• Nutrients missed at breakfast – namely calcium, fiber and certain vitamins and minerals – are rarely made up for during the day.
• Kids who eat breakfast tend to perform better in school and have fewer disciplinary problems. Breakfast also tends to help kids stay alert.

Let's look more closely and cereal intake and body weight. Two out of three adults – and   one out of three children – are overweight or obese. Frequent cereal eaters – men, women and children – tend to have healthier body weights overall. Several leading cereal manufacturers have made public commitments to reduce sugar content to single-digit grams of sugar per serving. Finding a cereal you or your family can enjoy with single-digit grams of sugar and three or more grams of fiber per serving is worth pursuing. But you must remember the importance of serving size as a means of calorie and added sugar controls. Also keep in mind that cartoon characters on cereal boxes do not usually translate into better nutrition, even though research indicates that kids are drawn to these products and even think they taste better!

Ranges and median scores

The range of NuVal™ scores in the cereal aisle is one of the widest in the entire supermarket. Cold cereal ranges from 4 to 100 with the median score being 25; hot cereal ranges from 10 to 100 with the median score being 37. The median score is the middle score within a range of scores. In other words, 50 percent of scores fall above and 50 percent of scores fall below the median score. The median score is rather low for cold cereals, so you must take care in finding the best choices. Remember, the higher the score, the better the nutrition.

What raises cereal scores?

The most nutritious cereals with highest scores contain just whole grain, and little or nothing else. A whole grain contains three parts of the grain – endosperm, bran and germ. Examples of whole grains are oats, brown rice, whole wheat, cornmeal and rye. Whole grain cereals are not only high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and beneficial natural plant chemicals, but also fiber, a natural component of the outer bran layer of the grain. Examples of cereals that score high are:  Food Club Puffed Wheat Cereal, Post Shredded Wheat Spoon Size, Arrowhead Mills Puffed Rice each scores 91. Hodgson Wheat Bran (100), Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Germ (99) and Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain (93) are examples of grain products that can be eaten hot or added to other products such as muffins to increase nutritional value. 

What lowers cereal scores?

In a nutshell, what is removed or added to cereals has the greatest impact on lowering scores. If the outer bran and germ are removed from the grain through refinement and processing, that leaves only the endosperm, which contains mostly starch. If sugar, salt, saturated or trans fat is added, the score will be lower. However, just because a cereal doesn’t contain unfavorable nutrients (such as added sugar, salt, saturated or trans fat) does not necessarily mean it's a good source of favorable nutrients (such as fiber, vitamins, and minerals). The total package of nutrients determines the NuVal™ score.

Let's Practice!

With such a large range of scores in cereals, you will obviously find some surprises in this section of the supermarket. Take this interactive quiz to determine which product has the highest score. After you decide, click on the items to see scores.

We encourage you to go to www.unitedtexas.com/nuval to learn more.