Take salt with your breakfast?

May 10 2009 by Mieka Smiles, Sunday Sun

IT’S pitched as the most important meal of the day but, with only eight per cent of cereals getting a green light for healthy sugar levels, many Britons are waking up to poor nutrition, as MIEKA SMILES finds out

"You can be quite adventurous with toppings. If you slice a banana over toast then you are getting one of your five-a-day."

Contrary to popular belief a full English is not necessarily a no-no when it comes to a healthy breakfast - it’s the way you cook it that counts.

Amelia said: "If you fancy a weekend treat then there are lots of ways that you can make a cooked breakfast healthy. You can replace frying with grilling, for example. You can also poach your eggs.

"By adding tomatoes and mushrooms you can make it a much healthier option."

Sue Davies, chief policy adviser at Which?, said: "Some cereals deserve their healthy image, but most simply don’t.

"It’s especially shocking that almost all those targeted at children are less healthy. With such little choice, it’s a daily struggle for consumers.

"Cereal manufacturers need to wake up to the fact that people want to eat healthily and provide them with the means to do so by reducing sugar and salt levels and making labelling clearer.

"With over a billion pounds spent on cereals every year, it’s time they rose to the occasion."

:: For more information or a copy of Going Against the Grain visit www.which.co.uk/cereals

Cereal offenders

Top five highest sugar content (per 100g):

Morrisons Choco Crackles (38.4g)
Kellogg’s Coco Pops Moons & Stars (37g)
Kellogg’s Frosties (37g)
Kellogg’s Ricicles (37g)
Sainsbury’s Choco Rice Pops (36g)

Top five highest salt content (per 100g):

Tesco Special Flakes (2.0g)
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (1.8g)
Kellogg’s Honey Loops (1.8g)
Morrison’s Honey Nut Corn Flakes (1.8g)
Whole Earth Organic Corn Flakes (1.8g)