Yeah, I know. It sucks hearing that everything you love is bad for you. I totally empathize. I grew up eating tons of cold breakfast cereals. Didn’t most of us? But, sorry, cereal is not REAL food. It is a food product. And unfortunately is not fit for human consumption. It’s time to ditch the breakfast cereals.
3 Ugly Truths About Breakfast Cereals
#1 Breakfast cereals are loaded with GMOs:
Hopefully by now you are painfully aware of how toxic genetically modified foods are for us. Research shows that GMO’s in our food supply are causing increased allergies, digestive problems, liver problems, issues with fertility (even sterility), and much more. And unfortunately, breakfast cereals are loaded with GMO ingredients. It’s actually a real ugly truth that nearly ALL processed foods contain GMOs.
But I eat “all natural” breakfast cereal!
It doesn’t matter. The highly deceptive tactics of the food industry have duped us. The word “natural” has been devised to misled the consumer , suggesting that the product is free from pesticide chemicals and genetically engineered ingredients. There is little regulation to guide what exactly is in these so-called “natural” products, and many product labeled as “natural,” actually contain ingredients from genetically modified corn, soy, canola, and sugar beets and toxic pesticides.
- Kashi brand cereals (Kellogg’s) contains “high levels” of GMOs. Not just a trace of GMOs, but a high level meaning the key ingredients are genetically engineered from the start.
- Whole Foods’ 365 brand Corn Flakes contains “high levels” of GMOs (more than 50% GE corn).
- Barbara’s Bakery Puffins cereal was also shown to contain more than 50% genetically engineered corn.
- Numerous “natural” products like Kashi GoLean, Mother’s Bumpers, Nutritious Living Hi-Lo, and General Mills Kix are contaminated with high levels of GMO ingredients, sometimes as high as 100%.
- Quaker Oats (a unit of PepsiCo) manages a processing plant that emits roughly 19,000 pounds of sulfuryl fluoride yearly. Sulfuryl fluoride is a toxic greenhouse gas used to treat crops like oats in storage. Quaker Oats claims to “all natural.”
#2 Cold breakfast cereals are produced by a process called extrusion.
During the production of breakfast cereals grains are placed into a machine called an extruder after being mixed with water into a sludge. This grain sludge is forced out of tiny holes at high temperatures and pressure, shaping them into those cute little o’s, stars, flakes, and puffs. Then they are sprayed with a coating of oil and sugar to keep them crispy and crunchy. Much of the nutrients are destroyed in this process, and any essential fatty acids are denatured, making them useless to our bodies. The funny thing is the even the synthetic vitamins that are added back to the sludge is altered by this extrusion process.
So what I am saying is that this extrusion process essentially makes cereal unhealthy for your body. The proteins in the grains are altered into foreign compounds that your body does not recognize, making them toxic. Some research has shown these denatured proteins become neurotoxic and can adversely affect the nervous system. (source)
And what’s even worse is that because organic, healthy cereals are usually made from whole grains, they are even more toxic because they contain more of this denatured protein. BUMMER!
#3 The synthetic vitamins and minerals added back to cold breakfast cereal are often useless to your body.
I have said a million times before. Just eat REAL food. There is no substitute for nature. Many cold breakfast cereal are fortified with vitamins and minerals to give you a good start to your morning. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Not really. Synthetic (man-made) vitamins and minerals are not readily absorbed by the body. Your body simply is not designed to utilize them. Many synthetic vitamins are actually treated as toxins and are eliminated by your body as quickly as possible.
The other part of that is that your body needs saturated fat in order to absorb many essential nutrients. With the “low fat” craze and “low fat” milks being consumed, the vitamins and minerals in our food supply are not being absorbed and utilized.
So don’t be fooled by the food industry into thinking that this highly-processed, over-packaged food product is the answer to a healthy breakfast. Our bodies need REAL food to start the day.
Need some new breakfast ideas? Check out my post on 28 Awesome REAL Food Breakfast Ideas or check out the BREAKFAST section of my recipe index.
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Sources:
- http://www.nongmoreport.com/articles/march2011/naturalcerealscontaingmos.php
- http://www.cornucopia.org/2011/10/natural-vs-organic-cereal/
- http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/dirty-secrets-of-the-food-processing-industry
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So Quaker Oats 100% Natural Whole Grain Old Fashioned Oatmeal is toxic too?
It mentions in the article: “Quaker Oats (a unit of PepsiCo) manages a processing plant that emits roughly 19,000 pounds of sulfuryl fluoride yearly. Sulfuryl fluoride is a toxic greenhouse gas used to treat crops like oats in storage.”
I would not have considered this cold cereal. So if this is bad for our bodies, what kind of oatmeal can I buy that is safe for my family?
Over the years, I have been trying to find better food for my family and find it more and more difficult to obtain good, healthy, safe food.
Andria,
How awesome that you are taking the time to educate yourself. Your family is lucky. Quaker oats is not cold cereal but unless you are buying 100% organic or Non-GMO, the grains are probably genetically modified. 🙁 And if you buy from companies who sell GMO’s then you are supporting Monsanto. NO THANKS!! I use a gluten-free, organic oatmeal. This is the brand that I use—-> http://amzn.to/1dQNNUd
The other thing, if you are going to eat grains, I highly recommend soaking them first. All grains contain phytic acid that inhibits digestion and absorption of the nutrients in the grain. So unless we break down this anti-nutrient before consuming, the grains are difficult to digests and we do not get the full benefits of the vitamins and minerals in the grains. You can read more about that here—> http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/11/30/soaking-whole-grains-why-do-it/
Making oatmeal healthier and easier to digest is easy. Just soak your oats the night before in some warm water and a bit of yogurt, kefir, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar. A couple TBS is good. Let it sit out overnight. Then cook it as usual in the morning. Soaking it will break down the phytic acid. See a recipe here—> http://nourishedkitchen.com/soaked-oatmeal-recipe/ And here—> http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/11/30/monday-mission-soak-your-oatmeal/ I personally do not rinse my oats after soaking. I just soak and cook.
Hope that helps…. let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
I was just wondering the same thing. I’ve been adding oats to almost everything I bake and I make porridge for my family’s breakfast often, because it’s full of protein and fibre, and with some blueberries and/or raspberries tossed on top, you would think it’d be a great breakfast to give your family. It’s getting so frustrating, trying to find healthy food to serve your family and then when you think you’ve got it down, someone comes along and tells you why it’s terrible for you. UGH!
I get it! I think that we all do the best that we can. I think oats can be great food. What I am recommending is to buy organic. And that is because I think it is important to NOT support Monsanto. And the trick with oats is to just properly prepare them. With oats, just soak them the night before in some warm water and a bit of yogurt, lemon juice, or kefir. This makes the grains more digestible. Cook as normal in the am. Hang in there!!! 🙂
If you really desire oats for your family, then one of the best places to purchase it is from a Health Food store. There you are able to purchase unprocessed whole grains.
Years ago a nutritionist friend of mine recommended that I gave my children cereal because of the vitamins – long, long before the internet and other factors opened my eyes!
Thank you for explaining the true facts! I hope others will now not make the same mistake as I did!
Parenting and life is all about learning isn’t it? We can only do the best that we can. 🙂
Hello Katja, you mentioned to put yogurt in the oats for overnight soaking. I assumed yogurt wasn’t really good for you because it derives from milk. Is that not the case?
Dairy is a tricky one. Some folks are able to digest dairy and some are not. I always recommend using only RAW dairy.
Just for the reply didn’t see it
Don’t forget that there’s so much sugar in both the cereal AND the milk we drench the sludge in. Vitamin D2 is essential for absorbing calcium, but it inhibits absorbtion of other vitamins, minerals, and affects natural fat storage. Just more reasons to avoid falling into the breakfast cereal trap that’s been force-fed to us since birth.
Milk ‘is somewhat’ good for you, but there’s just so much excessive junk in it, and make sure you drink a glass an hour AFTER you’ve finished your meal so your body can get most of the essentials from your breakfast, before focussing on calcium only.
I agree with the GMO foods being bad, however I am curious if you are making money from the alternitive advertisements like vital choice? as I see alot of their ads here, not that its a sin to do so, it is always more trust worthy taking advice when money is not involved in the decision. Anyways great looking website.
Hi, John! Yes, I do have ads on my site. It is how bloggers make money. I work very hard at developing recipes and taking photos, and advertising is one way that I get compensated. This is my job. The ads on my site are mostly reader driven (like most ads), so you will see ads for things that are related to what you look at on your computer. My opinion about breakfast cereals has nothing to do with the fact that I run ads. I share information that I find valuable and helpful. I hope that answers your question. Have a sweet day!
I disagree about the part where fortified vitamins and minerals is not easily absorbed by the body and is treated as toxins. I’m on my early thirties and for the first I have reintroduced breakfast cereals to my routine ever since I was kid. And frankly I feel awesome and evidently look much healthier and my productivity is up the roof. These fortified vitamins are far more effective being absorbed in my body then “real” food. I’m sorry but breakfast cereals, even with the ones with a lot of sugar in it is much better than not having it all, or worse eating a fry up. Sorry but your truth is not so truthful, no one truly died from eating these corporate manufactured brekkies
Hi, Ashraf! We can totally agree to disagree. I believe in real food. That is what my blog is about. Have a sweet day! 🙂
It’s been a long time since i eat a cereal.
It is vitamin D3 we need not to be confused with D2
You mean vit D3? That is what we need, not D2. what is the problem with fat and D2 exactly?
What do you think about 100% whole grain steel cut oats? I’ve heard these are the most healthy type of oats to eat. Quaker Oats and Millville make them. I’ve been eating them for breakfast every morning for a few years now. 0 grams of sugar. 6 grams of protein. 4 grams of dietary fiber.
Hi, David! This article was about processed boxed cereals. I would not consider whole oats to be in the category. 🙂
Is any one else eating cereal while reading this?
Is there a visual guide for healthy food?
I like how you call dough sludge. Oat flour, sugar, starch, water = sludge. So im assuming you don’t consume any products made out of a dough?