How Much Sugar Is Actually In Breakfast Cereal?

Starting your day with a bowl of what you think is a "healthy" cereal could actually be one of the biggest contributors to weight gain.

Even cereals that promote themselves as being a part of a healthy breakfast can be made up of more than 50% sugar by weight. And when you eat a massive amount of sugar first thing in the day, it can spike your blood sugar and signal to your brain throughout the day that you need more sugar, leading to dips in energy levels and concentration. Not exactly what you want to get from the most important meal of the day.

A fluctuation in blood sugar levels can also lead to weight gain and obesity over a long period of time. Because sugary cereals are often marketed to children, this can create an unhealthy lifestyle during key developmental years.

Nutritionists recommend avoiding cereals with more than 10 grams of sugar per serving, and to choose one with as much fibre as possible in order to stick with a healthy lifestyle. Research has shown that a diet with reduced sugar and increased fibre can lead to weight loss and an improved insulin function.

So how does your favourite breakfast cereal stack up when it comes to sugar?

Coco Pops

8 teaspoons of sugar per 100g

Let's keep it real — it's closer to a dessert than a healthy breakfast option. If they are your favourite then just have them as an occassional treat. A single bowl with a 30g serve contains a massive 9.7g of sugars, which is roughly 2 teaspoons per recommended serve, but who sticks to the recommended serving size?!

Milo Cereal

7 teaspoons of sugar per 100g

Even though they have had a reformulation, Milo cereal is one of the highest-rated cereals when it comes to sugar content, with 8.1g or almost 2 teaspoons of sugars per serve.

Uncle Toby's Quick Oats Sachets (Classic)

6 teaspoons of sugar per 100g

Looks pretty healthy, right? Oats can be a good breakfast choice but the more processed quick oats do have more sugars than natural whole oats. The added sugar and honey means they work out to 8.1g of sugars per 35g serving.

Kellogg's Nutri Grain

6 teaspoons per 100g

Who didn't love Nutri Grain growing up? After all, it's the original food for Iron Men (and Iron Women), with 8.5g of protein per serve. But you would also want to be an Iron Woman in order to burn off the 10.7g of sugars per 40g serve.

Kellogg's Just Right

5 teaspoons of sugar per 100g

If you think you're being super healthy with your bowl of Just Right, think again. Even though it's a good source of dietary fibre with 4g per serve, it also packs a sneaky sugar hit with 9.2g sugars per 40g serve, thanks to added sugar as well as the dried fruit.

Carman's Classic Fruit & Nut Muesli

4 teaspoons of sugar per 100g

Sugar is sugar. What a lot of us don't realise is that the sugar in muesli generally comes from the added dried fruits. When you have the added 10% dried fruit along with golden syrup, that explains the 6.8g of sugars per 45g serve.

Kellogg's Corn Flakes

2 teaspoons of sugar per 100g

A household staple that's almost a part of the family. Corn Flakes contain 2.5g of sugars per 35g serve but are a pretty low-fibre breakfast cereal option, so not the best choice if you are trying to be healthy or fill yourself up.

The Lady Shake

1/2 teaspoon of sugar per serve

The breakfast of champions!

Now we may be biased but the proof is in the pudding and The Lady Shake is one of the best ways to start your day. It's packed full of protein at 29.4g per serve, 7.9g of fibre and filled to the brim with vitamins and minerals that would cost you an arm and a leg to buy separately. The best part is at only 2.3g of sugar per serve and only 209 calories, it will turn your body into a fat-burning machine.