3 Reasons Your Granola May Be Hurting Your Diet

We’ve had breakfast cereal for over a century, but granola is a much younger phenomena, dating back to the late sixties and the hippie movement. Sometime justified, sometimes not, granola enjoys a health halo, allowing manufacturers to charge a premium compared to cereals. However, in many cases, granola is not much healthier, or even worse, than sugary cereals and candy bars.

Here’s why granola’s health halo is not always justified:

1. More calories. This is important when losing weight. While the average breakfast cereal is 100-120 calories, granolas are in the 200-250 calorie range. True, granola is much more dense than corn flakes or rice puffs, but if you are trying to lose weight, beware.

2. Not so natural. Many “natural” sounding products are made up of the same ingredients as candy bars  – partially hydrogenated oils (read: trans-fat), artificial colors, and various preservatives.

3. Sugar. While many granola products names boast titles including “Honey Toasted” and “Maple Syrup”, the first sweetener listed in the ingredient list is almost sugar. Often, sugar is listed multiple times, with different names, which confuses folks.

How to choose a good granola cereal?

If you are using the Fooducate app, we’ve got you covered. If not, read the nutrition label AND the ingredient list:

• Watch out for the calorie count
• Inspect the ingredient list to make sure that sugar in its various names is not the predominant ingredient.
• Avoid granola with long ingredient lists.

Even better, learn to make your own homemade granola. You’ll never want to go back.