Sussing out cereals
The best advice when selecting a cereal is to check the sugar content. Some cereals that are marketed as healthy do not necessarily meet the strict definition of the word. And some of the cereals marketed at children could be more accurately labelled as confectionary.
The lower the percentage of sugar among the total carbohydrates, the healthier the cereal is. If the kids complain that a healthy, sugar-free cereal is boring, it doesn't take long to dress it up with some slices of banana or strawberry.
Recent research suggests that no cereal is completely healthy due to the presence of a substance produced during the cooking of the grains, a suspected cancer-causing material called ‘acrylamide'. Food experts are looking into this issue at present and have urged the hungry public not to panic. Given that acrylamide is found in chips, baked potatoes and toast, it's fair to say most of us have been eating it for many years already.
The traditional cooked breakfast
If your preference is for a big hot breakfast we suggest you skip the fried eggs and bacon and opt for a serve of low-fat, high fibre baked beans. Research published in the British Journal of Cancer revealed that Scottish women who liked a ‘fry-up' for breakfast were twice as likely to develop oesophageal cancer as those eating a lighter breakfast. By lighter we mean, fruit, cereal or anything other than food swimming in a greasy frying pan. But if you want hot, baked beans or porridge are better options by a long way.
Coffee and a vitamin pill
Breakfast doesn't get much lighter than a coffee and vitamin pill but we'd suggest this is a less than effective way to start the day. For starters, to get the most out of your pill - and let's face it, most multivitamins don't come cheap - you need to eat something. This is because vitamins and minerals are dependent on each other to be most effective. The body's ability to use iron in food, for example, is enhanced when vitamin C is included in the same meal. If you wash your pill down with a mango smoothie or a bowl of fruit muesli, your body will benefit.
Another school of thought says that relying on pills is accepting second best anyway. Grains or apples can offer a lot more than just a single vitamin or mineral, or even a select list chosen by pill manufacturers. A wide variety of foods will provide thousands of compounds important for your health in the balance nature intended: a veritable orchestra of nutrients, playing in perfect harmony under the control of the Great Conductor.
If you want your mind and body in tune, or even if you simply want to lose weight, there's no really no better way to start the day than with a nutritious breakfast.
About Mannatech, Incorporated
Mannatech, based in Coppell, Texas, is a wellness solutions provider that sells more than 24 proprietary and scientifically validated glyconutritional supplements and products for adults and children that address health and wellness issues, weight management and skin care products, through a global network-marketing system throughout the United States and the international markets of Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Denmark. For additional information about Mannatech, please visit its corporate Web site: www.mannatech.com
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