Sponsored: What should I be looking at when I buy cereal?

Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Sponsored: What should I be looking at when I buy cereal?

QUESTION: What should I be looking at when I buy cereal? Fiber? Calories? Fat? Sugar....I'm so confused!

ANSWER: Eating cereal is a good way to get fiber in your breakfast meal. You can also have cereal as a snack with milk or use it to top plain Greek yogurt. Since the main goal of cereal is the fiber , that should definitely be something you look for.

Generally with cereal this is what I suggest:

1. Look for the black and white nutrition facts panel, usually this is on the side of the box.

2. Notice the serving size, this could be 1/2 cup or larger but it's important to know what amount the nutrition facts are referring to and not to eat more than the amount recommended.

3. Look for the amount of FIBER. I recommend cereals that have 5 or more grams of fiber. If your cereal has less than 5 grams of fiber, consider mixing in some higher fiber cereal. You could also mix in chia seeds, ground flax seeds or nuts to increase the fiber.

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4. Look for the amount of SUGAR. I recommend cereals that have less than 10 grams of sugar. If your cereal has more than 10 grams of sugar, consider decreasing the amount of that cereal and mixing in a lower sugar cereal.

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN

Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian

twitter.com/InglesDietitian

facebook.com/LeahMcgrathDietitian

800-334-4936

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