Were You Really Going to Eat That!?!

This is what is listed on the back of a Special K cereal bar that I took from one of my clients, as he was claiming this was his healthy breakfast.

CEREAL (RICE, WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, SUGAR, WHEAT BRAN, SOLUBLE WHEAT FIBER, SALT, MALT FLAVORING, MALTODEXTRIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2]), CORN SYRUP, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, BLUEBERRY FLAVORED FRUIT PIECES (SUGAR, CRANBERRIES, BLUEBERRY JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE, GRAPE JUICE CONCENTRATE FOR COLOR, SUNFLOWER OIL), FRUCTOSE, SUGAR, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL)†, MALTODEXTRIN, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL BLUEBERRY FLAVOR, DEXTROSE, SORBITOL, GLYCERIN, NONFAT DRY MILK, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, NIACINAMIDE, COLOR ADDED, MALIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), BHT (PRESERVATIVE).  †LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING


If you think this is healthy ...you might need a health coach!

Lets dissect this shall we?

First of all a few rules that are already broken.

1. If it has more than five ingredients... put it back!

2. If your cannot pronounce any ingredient...put it back!

3. If you got it off of the shelves from the middle of the super market... put it back!

I know, this is extreme.  Don't wig out on me just yet, these are just general guide lines.  There is some wiggle room.

Now lets look at some of these ingredients....

WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT:  No, there is nothing really wrong with this except that wheat is getting such a bad rap these days.  It is really hard to digest for most of us and it has a chemical that causes us to eat up to 400 more calories a day.  Who needs that? Not a good way to start the day.

SUGAR:  ....do I need to say anything, it's the third ingredient!  Anything that has sugar with in the first five ingredients... put it back!  Basically, if you add this rule and rule #1 you should not be eating anything with any added sugars.

MALTODEXTRIN: It is commonly used for the production of sodas and candy and it is easily digestible, being absorbed as rapidly as glucose (sugar.) Yes, this is how I would like to start my day, with candy and a soda.

CORN SYRUP:  Sugar...basically.

BLUEBERRY FLAVORED FRUIT PIECES : Hmmm....

GLYCERIN:  Isn't that in soap?

ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR:  You would not believe all the crap they can hide behind this label!!!

So in conclusion,  this bar might be a better pick than whatever else he might have eaten instead, but it is certainly not the best choice and not one that I would recommend.  

What can I eat on the run you ask?  Well, your first problem is that you are eating on the run but that is a different blog.   As far as choices, have a handful of nuts or  wrap up some veggies in some nitrate-free deli slices, hard boil and peel some eggs ahead of time.  If you can tolerate dairy yogurt can be a great choice.  If you can tolerate oats this can be a hearty breakfast that is easy to make.   And if you can be bothered to prep food, make some pancakes ahead of time pop them in the toaster, cover them in your favorite nut butter pick a piece of fruit add a hard boiled egg and GO!

Now go have a great rest of your day...