They represent a nutritious version of industrial grains. However, what should you pay attention to when choosing them at the supermarket? The nutritionist responds.
Breakfast star healthyA nutritious alternative to industrial cereals, oatmeal and muesli have become a sweet and healthy breakfast necessity. Plain flakes or mixed with chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit… the choice is wide on the supermarket shelves. And their nutritional contribution also varies depending on their composition. So how do you find your way and choose the best product?
Low carb
“The ideal bowl consists of pure oats or wheat flakes and a mixture of nuts,” says Pamela Ebner, nutritionist, nutritionist, author of the book. Eat right (1).
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By choosing regular cereal, which already provides a source of carbohydrates, you also ensure that you consume a lower portion of sugar. “It is important that the first meal of the day is not too rich in carbohydrates, molecules that are converted into glucose (sugar) in the body,” the specialist says. “A very sweet breakfast will cause a rise in blood sugar (sudden increase in blood sugar, editor’s note), then a drop in blood sugar that will make you hungry and encourage cravings for sweets throughout the day.”
If you want to choose a more gourmet version, for example with pieces of fruit or chocolate chips, then all you have to do is check the list of ingredients on the back of the product. Ingredients are listed in descending order. “In the first two on the list, we should find oats, wheat or nuts, but not sweet ingredients,” notes Pamela Ebner. Otherwise, it means that the product mainly consists of sugar.
Rich in fiber
To be nutritious, muesli must be rich in fiber. “Fiber helps stabilize the notorious spike in blood sugar,” says the dietitian nutritionist. Therefore, we refer here to the ratio of the nutritional composition of the product. “There should always be at least 1 gram of fiber for every 5 grams of sugar,” she says. So if muesli contains 20 grams of sugar, it should have at least 4 grams of fiber for the same serving.
The expert also recommends adding foods that are a source of fiber to crunchy muesli or oatmeal. For example, you can choose from oily seeds (pumpkin, flax, chia seeds, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.). Additionally, nuts and seeds are rich in omega 3, essential fatty acids that the body needs every day.
To be complete, breakfast should also consist of proteins. Milk (cow’s, almond or hazelnut), natural yogurt, kefir, or even almond or hazelnut puree… everyone can increase their bowl according to their taste.
Fructose syrup, glucose syrup, sweeteners… We avoid refined sugars in favor of honey, cane sugar, coconut flower or coconut.
Pamela Ebner, Dietitian, Nutritionist
Avoid highly processed ingredients
To ensure that we choose the healthiest products possible, we avoid those that contain highly processed ingredients, i.e. processed by food manufacturers and therefore have little nutritional value.
On the label, we notice these chemical molecules with obscure names or ingredients that we would not find in our kitchen. “Fructose syrup, glucose syrup, sweeteners… For example, we avoid refined sugars in favor of honey, cane sugar, coconut flower or coconut,” explains the specialist.
Finally, look out for crunchy muesli containing rice or puffed quinoa. “These ingredients come from an industrial process in which their food matrix is destroyed,” he warns. They will quickly increase the blood sugar level in the body, they are harmful to health.
(1) Eat rightBy Pamela Ebner, Thierry Souccar Publications, 324 pages, €22.90.
Source: Le Figaro
