This section provides you with up-to-date information and key facts on the nutritional content of breakfast cereals today.
» Vitamins & Minerals
» Fibre
» Salt
» Sugar
» Fat
• Breakfast cereals fortified with vitamins and minerals provide at least 25% of daily requirements for essential vitamins and 17% for iron
• Cereals with added vitamins and minerals play an important role in achieving a healthy and balanced diet 1
• In the UK, fortification of breakfast cereals has positively contributed to increasing vitamin and mineral intakes during childhood and adolescence2
• Eating breakfast cereals with milk is one of the easiest ways to increase calcium in the diet3 . Approximately a third of all milk in the UK is consumed with breakfast cereal.
• Fortified breakfast cereals are an important source of iron in the UK diet, providing 20% of mean total iron intake1
• Fortified breakfast cereals are an excellent source of folic acid, a nutrient particularly important to pregnant women, on average contributing 15% of the daily intake4
• Fortified breakfast cereals are an important source of vitamin B12 for vegans and vegetarians
• Fortified breakfast cereals are the main dietary source of thiamin (vitamin B1), providing 14% of overall daily intake1
• Fortified breakfast cereals contribute significant amounts of riboflavin and niacin on average providing 15% and 10% of daily intake respectively
• 13% of the average daily intake of vitamin B6 is obtained from fortified breakfast cereals1
• Fortified breakfast cereals contribute 13% of the average daily vitamin D intake in men and women, 20% of the average daily vitamin D intake in girls and 24% in boys5
• Vitamin D is important for the absorption of calcium from the diet and the contribution of breakfast cereals is particularly important during the winter months when vitamin D cannot be obtained as readily from the sun
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"Breakfast cereal is an important source of dietary fibre and is the single most important way of increasing wholegrain in the diet" – Prof. Tom Sanders, Head of Nutrition Sciences, Kings College London
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• The UK cereal industry via the ACFM has achieved a 43% reduction in salt* from 1998 to 2007.
• Breakfast cereals now, on average, contain only 0.33g of sodium per 100g, which equates to less than 5% of the average adult daily intake. 6
• Cereal manufacturers in the UK are leading the way in changing the labelling of food products to include details of salt as well as sodium. This provides greater clarity for consumers conscious of their salt intake.
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• Breakfast cereals, on average, contribute only a small proportion of added sugars in the average diet - and less than 10% of the average adult daily intake7
• The amount of sugar provided in a portion of sweetened breakfast cereals is similar to that in a slice of toast and jam or fruit yoghurt
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• Breakfast cereals are mostly low in fat, on average containing between 2 and 4% fat except those containing nuts and oilseeds (e.g. Muesli and Granola)
• Cereals containing nuts and seeds provide added nutrients, including essential fatty acids, which are important for growth and development, and may help to maintain a healthy heart.
1. National Diet & Nutritional Survey of Young People 2004. Gregory et al.
2. Serra-Majem (2001); Public Health Nutrition
3. British Nutrition Foundation
4. BNF
5. Henderson et al. (2001), Gregory et al (2000), BNF * Measured as sodium
6. National Diet & Nutritional Survey of Young People 2004. Gregory et al.
7. http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/ nutritionessentials/fatssugarssalt/salt/
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