Ola my friend! Here’s a short personal story about my addiction to white sugar and how it made the cereal I ate the most unhealthy cereal ever. Many people struggle with sugar addictions. Some realize it and some do not. I realized much later in life that my consumption of white sugar was not only unhealthy but dangerous. My body suffered a lot of abuse for sure. I am simply blessed to not have health issues given my past behavior and relationship with white sugar.
Let’s face it, is cereal healthy? Well, it depends. In my opinion, characteristics of healthy cereal include: being low processed, made with whole grains, high in organic fiber, no synthetic fortified vitamins, no added sugar, low sodium (i.e. <100mg per serving), no artificial ingredients, and they are most likely not advertised or popular. Cereal with these kind of characteristics exist but they are not easily accessible or frequently advertised. The cereals readily accessible with big discounts and frequent advertisements are the unhealthy ones with added sugar and pumped with synthetic vitamins.
Well, let’s get to it. Here’s my story.
Most Unhealthy Cereal: My Favorite Cereals & Sugar Problem
Growing up, my favorite cereals included Honey Bunches of Oats (original and with almonds), life, Cheerios, and Cap’n Crunch (original). Raisin Brain Crunch came into my life when I got older and could afford it. It ended up growing on me because I didn’t do fruit or raisins in my cereal. But it turned into one of my favorites too. I also ate corn flakes, Rice Chex but they were not my go to cereals.
These cereals all have some amount of sugar but guess what I did? For some reason I always felt compelled to pour generous amounts of white sugar on the top of my cereal. There was a clear layer of white sugar on top. It was so much sugar that I always had a lot of it left over at the bottom of the bowl. Now, I can understand having sugar for Corn Flakes or Cheerios but the other cereals had a lot of sugar added already. I shudder thinking about this now because I was living dangerously.
I believe the only thing that helped me during my moments of pumping my body full of sugar was that I did not eat cereal every day. It was mostly a weekend thing and sporadically throughout the week but I would have like 2-3 bowls at a time.
Most Unhealthy Cereal: Downsides and Body Impact
White sugar has proven to cause high blood sugar, high blood pressure, inflammation, obesity, heart disease, poor skin health, unsustainable energy surges, depression risks, cancer risks, and many other health risks. I am not saying you cannot consume white sugar at all but consuming in excess will cause many problems for you.
Pouring sugar on cereal already void of any real nutritional value caused my body to experience several things. The main things I remember include never feeling satisfied and always wanting more to eat as well as occasionally standing up too fast and falling down not knowing how I ended up on the floor. I certainly know that white sugar also contributed to my weight gain and swelling in my hands and feet. Otherwise I was a normal child, teen and young adult without any major health issues. I thought I was invincible and could eat any thing and how I wanted.
Today, I do not consume or buy white sugar at all. Now I may consume light brown sugar from time to time but very rarely and in small quantities. However, I prefer to use coconut sugar, 100% maple syrup, date sugar, or honey.
Most Unhealthy Cereal: Turning to Healthy Alternatives
So do I still eat cereal and if not what do I eat instead? No, I do not eat cereal anymore. It just never made the grocery list. I do not have a desire for cereal and (plant-based) milk. I suppose I could try some of the healthy cereals I can find in the stores. However, I have a list of yummy foods that I eat instead of cereal.
Here are some foods I eat instead of cereal:
Store-bought cereal may make the grocery list if I can find one that is worth eating and buying. I will continue to explore the possibilities like the ones found here but I am quite content with my current alternatives listed above.
I love getting all of my protein, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients directly and naturally from fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, meats and healthy starches. Please, I highly recommend you do the same.
Until Next Time
Well, what do you think? Are you working on your sugar consumption habits? Do you eat healthy or unhealthy cereal? What are some healthy cereals or alternatives you absolutely love? Please drop a comment below or email me. I would love to hear your feedback and/or stories. If you want some healthy and delicious breakfast ideas then check out ‘The Best Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal in 5 minutes’ here or try these ‘Underrated Vegan Pancakes Bound to Become Your New Favorites’ here.
Well, I will take my leave for now. I look forward to our time together again soon. Be inspired to have an appetite to Live and Live well.
Adaeze
Leave a Reply