Is your Instagram feed filled with yummy breakfast options? I suspect most of our lovely Scoop readers have already woken up to the benefits of breakfast. But a significant number of Aussies still need a shake up. Today in Sydney brand new research was released on breakfast cereal and health. I was sorry to have to miss the briefing that looks all things deliciousness. But we are lucky to have the lead author bring us the scoop.
About our expert:
Peter Williams is a Fellow and past President of the Dietitians Association of Australia, Adjunct Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Canberra and Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Wollongong. He is currently a member of the TGA Advisory Committee on Complementary Medicines, the Heart Foundation’s Food and Nutrition Advisory Committee and the Advertising Standards Board of Australia. Professor Williams has been an invited member of several NHMRC working parties for reviews of the Dietary Guidelines for Australia and the Nutrient Reference Values.
I was very pleased to be involved in this important new review into breakfast cereal and health supported by the Australian Breakfast Cereal Manufactures Forum. Published today in Advances in Nutrition, an international peer-reviewed journal of the American Society of Nutrition, the review is the first time the evidence relating specifically to breakfast cereal was explored. Because it is a readily available, highly popular and convenient option I believe it was important to look at specific questions on breakfast cereal. Like does it really add a significant amount of sodium to the diet?
We looked at the impact of breakfast cereal on healthy diets, body weight, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and bowel health in a systematic assessment using the Australian government’s stringent National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) criteria. We included more than 230 papers spanning over 30years!
The results reinforce what many of us know to be true. Breakfast is an incredibly important and powerful meal that breaks our overnight fast. But now we can say a categorical “yes” that breakfast cereals are associated with strong nutrition and health benefits. I’ve put together a snap shot of the key findings for you below and the full paper is available here:
Nutrition boost
It was clear from the research that regular breakfast cereal eaters have more nutritious diets, which are higher in vitamins and minerals and have a greater likelihood of meeting recommended nutrient intakes.
However despite common belief, breakfast cereal eaters do not have higher sodium intakes than non-breakfast cereal eaters – a finding consistent with recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data, which shows ready-to-eat breakfast cereals actually provide only around two per cent of the sodium in Australian diets.
Weight management
One of the strongest findings was the benefit of eating breakfast cereal for weight management. Regularly eating breakfast cereal is associated with a lower body mass index and a 12 per cent lower risk of being overweight or obese and in both adults and children.
The review found that for children who consume breakfast cereal, there is no difference in their overall daily energy intake, total sugars intake or risk of overweight or obesity whether they consume pre-sweetened breakfast cereals or other breakfast cereals.
Diabetes
Regularly eating wholegrain and high-fibre breakfast cereal is associated with a 24 per cent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.
Cardiovascular disease
Regularly eating wholegrain and high-fibre breakfast cereal is associated with a 20-28 per cent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
Breakfast cereal that is high in soluble fibre (such as oats, barley or psyllium) helps lower total and LDL cholesterol.
Bowel cancer
Breakfast cereal plays an important role in bowel health, with evidence that high-fibre, wheat-based breakfast cereals help prevent constipation and improve bowel function, increasing regularity by 25 per cent.
Editor’s comment:
Thank you Peter. I love seeing new support for breakfast. Personally I often shake up my morning choices with egg or avo on toast and cereals (love my muesli), plus weekend pancakes with the kids. But I just counted and we currently have 9 different cereals in the pantry! Lovely readers you may like to check out the summary report, further info and shareable infographics at www.cereal4brekkie.com.au And I‘m keen to hear if you are a cereal lover below in our comments?
