I've been looking into this quite a lot. Breakfast is one area where, for at least 5 days a week, you want to grab a bowl of something and just dash out of the house. In our house we certainly don't have the time to be making our own muesli from bags and pots of interesting-sounding things from Holland and Barrett in the morning, because we are too busy getting children and bags ready, and timing our departure so we reach school and nursery at exactly the very moment that their doors open, in order to then catch the earliest possible train into work.
So we rely on bought cereals. And why not? We stick to the healthier end of the spectrum, avoiding the particularly sugary/chocolatey/delicious ones. Many breakfast cereals make health claims, and it's good to know that for at least that one meal a day, we are guaranteed to get good percentages of various GDAs and vitamins, and a decent dose of fibre. So surely they will be low in sodium too? Disappointingly, the answer is no.
Here's a quick run-down of some of the popular cereals...all figures are g of sodium per 100g. See here for more on recommended sodium/salt levels.
Saltier than Walkers Crisps:
Kelloggs Corn Flakes 0.7g
Kelloggs Rice Krispies 0.65g
Kelloggs All Bran 0.6g
High:
Kelloggs Fruit n Fibre 0.55g
Kelloggs Bran Flakes 0.5g
Cheerios 0.5g
Kelloggs Coco Pops 0.45g
Kelloggs Crunchy Nut 0.45g
Kelloggs Frosties 0.45g
Kelloggs Special K 0.45g
Weetaflakes 0.4g
Middling:
Shreddies 0.3g
Weetabix 0.26g
Low:
Alpen 0.15g
Ready Brek <0.1g
Oatibix 0.15g
Quaker Oatso Simple "Trace"
Quaker Granola "Trace"
Shredded Wheat "Trace"
Shredded Wheat Bitesize "Trace"
Some of those figures are pretty high. In a "serving" of Kelloggs Corn Flakes you'd get half a gram of salt - that's the same as a normal-sized bag of crisps. Generally, the Kelloggs cereals came out high; those at the bottom of the list above are largely made by Weetabix (although you can get an even lower sodium Weetabix-type cereal from Doves Farm at 0.2g).
I took a look at some own-brand versions of the Kelloggs cereals to see if they were any better.
Bran Flakes - Sainsburys 0.6g, Tesco 0.6g
Choco Snaps - Sainsburys ?, Tesco 0.4g
Corn Flakes - Sainsburys 0.6g, Tesco 0.6g
Frosted Flakes - Sainsburys 0.6g, Tesco 0.6g
Um, no, not really! So it's Shredded Wheat and porridge from now on until Kelloggs sort out their act.
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5 comments:
I make our muesli, have done ever since I read the labels and didn't like what I saw, esp sugar and salt.
It really doesn't take long, and I keep it in a huge pot. I put most of a box of oats with lots and lots of dried fruit and nuts. My husband doesn't really eat fruit, and so I put in as much as I possibly can, so that, with luck, he's eating a portion unnoticed ;)
The other good thing about making it yourself, is that you can vary it, put in what people really like, and leave out the things they're not so keen on. And you're quality control, too ...
Definitely worth doing
Thanks for all these good stats ... my children, of course, don't bother with muesli, they much prefer Kellogg's
Joanna
You've inspired me - I'll look into it. Although it may be a bit of a boring mueseli as I have a nut allergy...
Hi.
I've just discovered your blog and think it is fantastic and is going to be a great help to me as I try and reduce my BP.
Breakfast cereals is an interesting one that I had never considered before. I love Jordans which says it only has a trace, what are your thoughts (this is the product in the bags not the boxes)
Duncan
Hi Duncan -
Sorry I have only just got around to replying! I've taken a look at Jordan's mueslis and they look like a great low sodium option. Unfortunately they're not for us, as I daren't even let nuts into my kitchen :-). Good luck with your journey to reducing your BP. I see there is some new info on the BPA website here:
http://www.bpassoc.org.uk/microsites/salt/Home
A
Hi, I found your site through BPA forums. I'm looking for some new recipes will enjoy trying out some of yours, thanks for sharing.
On the subject of breakfast cereals; Kelloggs Optivita has 0.05g sodium/0.15g salt per 30g portion - not bad for a Kelloggs cereal, although it is very sweet. I think they put a bucket load of sugar in to replace the salt, a few of the mueslis/granolas are like that too.
Joanna is probably right when she says making your own in the healthiest option - although my son is like her kids, he likes Kelloggs Cornflakes best.
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