Who doesn’t like a bowl of cereal?

Looking into the history & nutritional facts of one of our fave foods

“By now, there’s little debate that sweetened cereal delivers sugar highs more than it does nutrition – so it’s ironic that the morning staple was conceived as a health food.”

When I was doing some background research for this article, I read a quote that really made me pause and think for a minute as I tried to unpack the bias and food shaming. It said sweetened cereal delivers more sugar highs than nutrition, and it was ironic that this popular breakfast option was conceived as a healthy food. There was so much in one sentence. I was a bit surprised to read this – when and why did we start to demonize cereal as an “unhealthy” food that we shouldn’t be eating?

For many Americans, cereal is an extremely nostalgic food; we all know the time-old tale of Saturday morning cartoons and cereal bowls on the couch. But as we grew up, and were exposed to dominant health messaging around nutrition and what we should be eating, it’s pretty likely we moved away from our favorite childhood cereals and towards “healthy” cereals or even just away from cereal altogether.

Cereal was first introduced as a “health” food, way back in the 1800s. While there were versions of cereal like oatmeal and porridge, cold cereal didn’t hit the market until the 1890s. The Kellogg Brothers and CW Post each worked to put ready-to-eat cold cereals on the grocery store shelves, introducing Granose Flakes and Grape Nuts, respectively. These earliest varieties of cereals boasted incredible health benefits through taglines like they would “enrich” your blood or give you more nourishment in one pound of cereal than “10 pounds of meat, wheat, oats or bread.” The early marketers even positively highlighted sugar content in the boxes by stating they were “pre-sweetened” and that there was no need for consumers to add their own sugar, and…moreover, the added sugar provided energy and flavor. Now, keep in mind, this was well before there was any sort of regulation around health claims on food products like we have today. While cereal may not be the “perfect” food (to be clear there is no such thing as a universal “perfect” food) it was sold as such in its conception, and solidified its stature as a “healthy” food in American culture.

And yet, that all came crashing down in the 1970s and 1980s, when low-carb and sugar-free diets took hold and made us believe carbohydrates were bad and that cereal wasn’t sufficient as breakfast. Cereal companies replied by making an effort to continue marketing the health benefits of their cereals and also introduced newer, “healthier” options. Once the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 passed and Nutrition Facts were required on packaged products, people were actually able to see the ingredients and nutrition facts of many foods for the first time, including cereal.

Not only was the true reveal of cereal’s composition eye-opening, but the changing American culture to fast-paced and on-the-go played a role as well in cereal’s ongoing success. Those who continue to eat breakfast as a first meal typically reach for something affordable and quick that doesn’t require the added chore of reaching for dishes–think a granola bar or other quick-grab food. And then we have those who don’t even eat breakfast – nearly a quarter of the US population. 74% of those people aren’t meeting two-thirds of their daily vitamin and mineral recommendations.

Now, how do we fix that problem, you ask? If only there was an affordable, shelf-stable, quick, easy breakfast option that was fortified with vitamins and minerals that requires no prep and minimal dishes–cereal re-enters the options.

We’ve seen the way cereal has taken on many roles in our patterns of eating since its conception in the 1800s. It has played the role of the ultimate healthy breakfast; it has been the sugar-filled snack. In all its iterations, many would agree that cereal tends to show up nostalgically in our memories of comfort foods. But, what if we could get back to the basics and take cereal for what it really is? At its core, cereal is a quick, nutritious, affordable, and shelf-stable food that can and should be enjoyed at breakfast.

Nutrition Profile of 10 Popular American Cereals

The table above shows the nutritious facts of ten popular kinds of cereal, ranging from those advertised as health-conscious to the “sugar” cereals that receive a finger wag of disapproval. Indulge me and take a close look at this table. Are these cereals really that different from each when pitted against each other? In general, they contain nearly the same amounts of macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals; the differences will likely not cause any dramatic changes to your health.

My main point here is a wake-up call of caution. As fact sharers and leaders in the food field, we want to be mindful of the food shaming that may lead to missing out on essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. As mentioned, people who are skipping breakfast– for all their reasons–aren’t meeting two-thirds of their vitamin and mineral recommendations. However, if those missing out could expand their pattern of eating and include a bowl of cereal, they may be able to bridge the nutrient gap.

This same narrative applies to many other foods crossed out for being “processed” food. My hope is that we continue to engage in conversation and make space for a variety of foods while making way for more inclusive and accessible foodways.

Sources:
https://www.cheerios.com/products/original-cheerios
https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000200366
https://cereals.generalmills.com/products/cocoa-puffs/
https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000199349
https://www.cinnamontoastcrunch.com/products/cinnamon-toast-crunch
https://www.luckycharms.com/products/original-lucky-charms
https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00018627703211
https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000200038
https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000596612
https://www.quakeroats.com/products/cold-cereals/life-cereal/regular