Did You Know? 33 Nutritional Cereal Facts About A Healthy Breakfast

For those of you who still don't know what cereal is, cereals, or as they are colloquially referred to as breakfast cereals, are a common for breakfast in the west, made from processed cereal grains.

In the Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Scotland, and many others, cereals are one of the most common breakfast options occasionally eaten as a snack too. The breakfast cereal that you have been eating since you were a kid was actually the ready-to-eat cereals that were introduced in the late 1800s.

Cereals have been commonly divided into two categories, warm cereals and cold cereals.

Warm cereals were introduced earlier than the cold ones, and they included the likes of grits and porridge. On the other hand, the cold cereals refer to some of our favorite childhood cereals, such as the Kellogg's corn flakes or the cheerios and many more such cereals.

Over the years, people have been eating cereal along with milk and occasionally yogurt too.

Owing to rising competition in the cereal industry, many cereal types have fruit or nut inside to make your breakfast a bit more nutritious. At the same time, it has been seen that cereal companies often target children as their primary customers, and we can thus see different cartoons such as tony the tiger on cereal boxes.

If you take a look at the cereal aisle in any of your nearby stores, you will see a wide variety of cereals ranging from Kellogg's cornflakes to fruity pebbles.

The Invention Of Cereals

The cereal that we eat today, such as the froot loops or the cheerios, took decades to develop. The breakfast cereal is an American invention whose first developments age back to the mid 19th century, but it wasn't until the early 1900s that the item had become popular among Americans.

Let us take a look at how our first breakfast cereal was invented and the further changes it underwent.

• James Caleb Jackson was the first-ever person to create a breakfast cereal made of graham flour dough and went on to name it granula in the year 1863.
• Granula upsettingly wasn't a big success, but the years that followed saw John Harvey Kellogg develop a better version of granula naming it granola.
• In the late half of the 19th century, Grape-Nuts were introduced by C.W. Post, which went on to become quite popular.
• Coming to the 1900s, John Harvey Kellogg, along with his young brother, introduced one of the most popular cereals till the day, the corn flakes.
• The brothers had devised a way to produce flaked cereal and added sugar to their product. At the same time, they marketed the in-box prize in corn flakes to attract customers.
• In the 1910s, the Quaker Oats Company devised the puffing gun method to manufacture puffed cereal which at that time was a revolution.
• With the advent of time, many new cereal types entered the industry, and the '40s saw the introduction of Cheerios.
• Did you know, in 1979, General Mills introduced the famous Honey Nut Cheerios, which eventually went on to become the most eaten cereal in the world.
• Post the second world war in the '50s, there was a spike in cereal sale. In order to grasp the opportunity, Kellogg's introduced its Frosted Flakes, which featured the cartoon character Tony, the tiger.
• Did you know it was with the introduction of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes that the world witnessed the beginning of television advertising.

Different Types Of Cereals

Ever since the invention of breakfast cereals, consumers have had the luxury of choosing from a wide variety of brands. Let us take a look at some of the most common breakfast cereals from over the years, which have been a staple at breakfast tables all over the world.

• Rice krispies is one of the earliest cereals released in 1928 by Kellogg company. This breakfast cereal is made of crisped rice which makes it different from the other cereals.
• Interestingly, when milk is added to the rice krispies, a unique 'snap, crackle, and pop' sound is generated.
• Fruity pebbles is another popular American cereal brand introduced to the market in 1971 by the popular American cereal manufacturer Post Consumer Brands.
• Did you know the fruity pebbles have a sugar content of 0.31 oz (9 g) per serving.
• Talking about sugar content, Kellogg's honey smacks is a cereal type introduced in the mid 20th century by the Kellogg company.
• This breakfast cereal stands out for its significantly high sugar level.
• Did you know the honey smacks were initially known as sugar smacks but were then changed to honey smacks to portray a healthy image of the cereal.
• One of the most popular breakfast cereals in the world is Cap'n crunch, manufactured by Quaker Oats Company and launched in 1963.
• Did you know, Cap'n crunch's commercial slogan was 'It's got corn for crunch, oats for punch, and it stays crunchy, even in milk.'
• Another popular breakfast cereal sold in the United States under the brand of General Mills is Golden Grahams.

Nutritional Value Of Cereals

Cereals comprise a large part of our diet as we more often than not consume it during breakfast and sometimes as a snack too. Cereals claim to be pretty nutritious and healthy for the human body, but many of them contain high amounts of sugar.

• Did you know 3.52 oz (100 g) of cornflakes provides a total of 357 calories and merely 0.014 oz (0.4 g) of fat, proving itself to be one of the healthiest options.
• Cornflakes also contain 0.28 oz (8 g) of protein and healthy amounts of iron, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C.
• Oatmeal, one of the popular cereal types, provides 68 calories every 3.52 oz (100 g) serving.
• At the same time, oatmeal provides only 0.084 oz (2.4 g) of protein.
• The cereal Cap'n crunch offers one of the highest calorie content every 3.52 oz (100 g) with 398 calories. But on the contrary, its protein content is pretty low at 0.15 oz (4.25 g) for every 3.52 oz (100 g) of Cap'n crunch.
• Did you know 3.52 oz (100 g) of Honey Nut Cheerios contain 376 calories along with 0.31 oz (9 g) of protein.
• At the same time, Honey Nut Cheerios contain high amounts of sugar as 3.52 oz (100 g) of it have 1.16 oz (33 g) of sugar.

Health Benefits Of Cereals

In the current day, every other person in the world eats cereals either in the morning or during some other part of the day. The cold cereals have undoubtedly become an integral part of our lives but are they healthy for us the way they are marketed? Let us find out.

• The health benefit of a ready-to-eat cereal depends upon the ingredients and the nutritional value of the cereal.
• One must choose only those cereals which offer less than 0.17 oz (5 g) of sugar per serving, this is an ideal measure for keeping the sugar levels in check.
• Did you know excess consumption of sugar in breakfast can lead to drastically high insulin levels, which are harmful to the body.
• Fiber is pretty important to build a healthy diet, prefer to choose a cereal that provides a minimum of 0.10 oz (3 g) of fiber per serving.
• These cereals are known to be beneficial for the digestive system preventing any significant digestive issues as they are low in cholesterol and have healthy amounts of fiber.
• Many cereal types contain healthy amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B, which are good for human metabolism.