This Classic 'Healthy' Breakfast Brand Sells One Of The Unhealthiest Cereals On Store Shelves

Cereal is a breakfast staple that runs the gamut from veritable dessert in a bowl to wholesome and nutritiously well-rounded grains. Many brands have well-established health claims to make customers feel that they're getting a complete breakfast, but you might not want to generalize. A case in point is Cheerios, the classic "healthy" breakfast brand that sells one of the unhealthiest cereals on store shelves today.

Cheerios Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey cereal was among our list of the most unhealthy cereals you can buy. Cheerios claims that whole-grain oats are the first ingredient in Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey, supplying 31 grams per serving of the 48 grams recommended daily in a healthy diet. However, the second ingredient on the list is sugar. One cup of the Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey cereal has 15 grams of added sugar, exceeding over half of the recommended added sugar intake for women, for example. Sugar isn't the only concerning ingredient as corn syrup was also high up on the list. One cup of Oat Crunch contains 4 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. However, with 42 grams of total carbohydrates and 15 grams of added sugar, the fiber content isn't nearly enough to compensate. While 4 grams of protein is more than most other cereals that made the unhealthy-cereal list, it still isn't sufficient to create a complete macro-nutrient profile; for context, it's generally agreed that you want 15 to 40 grams of protein per meal and 8 to 12 grams of fiber per meal.

If you're concerned about enjoying a healthy breakfast, leave Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey out of your shopping cart. But don't write off Cheerios completely. The original Cheerios certainly lives up to the brand's heart-healthy claims, with 4 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and only 1 gram of added sugar. While these facts might not look too different from the Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey cereal, the total carbohydrate count for original Cheerios is a mere 29 grams. Furthermore, one serving of original Cheerios is 1 ½ cups, while one serving of Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey is only 1 cup, which means that the Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey cereal has twice as many carbohydrates as original Cheerios.

Original Cheerios ranked fourth in our tasting of 14 Cheerios-brand cereals, while the Oat Crunch Oats 'N Honey Cheerios ranked seventh. Our top spots went to Multigrain Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios, both of which have less added sugars than the Oat Crunch Cheerios as well as less overall carbohydrates. The brand even offers high protein cereal, if you're looking to achieve those 15 to 30 grams of protein per meal. However, if you want quality protein-packed cereals that taste delicious, you should check out our ranking of high-protein cereals for better options. Cheerios isn't the only seemingly healthy brand guilty of selling an unhealthy breakfast; you should also choose wisely with any of Special K's products.