National Cereal Day?!?
National Cereal Day
Apparently I missed it.
Who loves cereal? Cereal was a childhood favorite of mine. My mom did not purchase sugar-sweetened cereals often, but when they were there I played the cereal game! Let’s be honest, I have played this game well into my adult life. Cereal typically wins.
Too much milk left.
Add more cereal.
Too much cereal.
Add more milk.
As you can see, this game is difficult to win. The cereal will most likely come out on top.
Cereal is a carbohydrate( all carbohydrates turn to sugar at some point). Even the “healthiest” of whole grains or steel-cut oats turn to sugar. Once we swallow the carbohydrate, our body identifies it as incoming sugar (glucose). Carbohydrates are the only NONESSENTIAL nutrient and we have ZERO feedback coming in to tell us to stop eating them.
Think about this for a minute.
I learned about this concept at the Keto Summit Omaha nutrition conference I attended and a presentation by Dr. Robert Cywes.
If you are thirsty, you drink water until you are no longer thirsty. You eat protein, such as steak, (ESSENTIAL amino acids) and you can only eat so much and you receive a “full” signal. The same goes for fat (ESSENTIAL fatty acids).
Anything we put into our mouth is one of three MACRO nutrients: CARBOHYDRATE, PROTEIN, or FAT. (ALCOHOL is in its own category). The human body is made of protein and fat. We will not survive without ESSENTIAL proteins and fats. We can survive without carbohydrates.
General Mills, Quaker and other big food companies have done a fantastic job of hooking us on their breakfast food and other processed “food" substances. My goodness, even the American Heart Association endorses many of these products as “heart-healthy.”
Some people can tolerate eating the grain that cereal is made of. Cereal and carbohydrates in general, do not have to be inherently bad. The problem with cereal and other processed carbohydrates is the quantity consumed,( hello blood sugar spike and sugar cravings) while providing very little satiety. The biggest problem with these food-like substances is the ADDICTIVE nature that is part of our nation’s obesity and diabetes epidemic. Our metabolic health is in despair and in need of REPAIR.
This message is not just for the adult readers, our kids need our help too! We vote with our grocery store dollars and are making choices for our kids with what we purchase. My cupboards are far from perfect, but it is always a work in progress. We have the opportunity to put the brakes on the diabetes epidemic. This is one of many things we have control over is this time of uncertainty. Chose and shop wisely.
A cereal alternative to support the transition off of sugar-laden cereals is to create your own using a mixture of nuts. The recipe I used from Carolyn Ketchum is delicious. I encourage you to still be mindful with this, portion out a serving (1/3 cup) and slowly enjoy.
Before you pour that next bowl of cereal, consider your metabolic health. This includes those considered to be in the healthy weight range, not just those with obesity or diabetes. Sugar has so many downstream consequences that we ALL need to eat less of it—in any form! Can your blood sugar tolerate the hit of sugar? 88% of Americans are not metabolically healthy, so good chances are we all need to avoid the cereal aisle.
