Do you pay much attention to the brands of breakfast cereals you are buying?

Yes, those Kegglogs, Nestle, Post, General Mills…

Do you know what kind of industries these are?

Well, of course, you’d say. They are food industries!

And yet, go check out on the web — these are Food Processing industries!

So these companies take food and process it. Why would they process food instead of just selling it in its natural state? To INCREASE their PROFITS of course.

They take raw ingredients, like corn or wheat or rice and they strip that food of its natural ingredients, because molds and bacterials are less attracted to foods that are low in nutrients. Later in the process the food processing companies add artificial components that either enhance foods flavor and/or make it last longer (preservatives and stabilizers) And that it not all: to enhance the food’s texture or appearance more elements are added, such as fats and artificial colorants.

You’d think they’d be done here, but no, there is nothing left in the product at this moment which is good for us, so synthetic nutrients are added back into the food. This allows producers to proudly stick the nutritional chart on the back of the box, or put a large “HEALTHY CHOICE” or “RICH IN POTASSIUM” claim on it.

These companies are here for profit and they are competing for our money. So their marketing campaigns are relentless. They will do anything it takes to produce more, to do it faster and to increase the shelf life of their product.

Here is where we have to ask ourselves. Really, is the ease and speed at which a box of cereal allows us to get our kids fed and ready in the morning worth the trade we are getting here?

Our bodies need proper nourishment, not some dried shredded cardboard chips looking stuff floating in milk… which by the way is also stripped of all its nutrients before it reaches our kitchen tables.

I remember when we lived in India, fresh farmed milk was delivered to us every morning at 5am. The milkman would just leave bottles on our porch. When you picked it up you would notice how the naturally occurred particles of fat would have come up to the bottle neck and it would be hard to get the milk out without piercing through the layer of fat first.

Once I got distracted and forgot to take the milk inside and in a matter of a few hours the milk completely separated. This is how perishable this product is.

You never see that happening with commercially sold milk, right?

The milk we see in our supermarkets is not only pasteurized (heated for a certain time period at low temperatures to get rid of bacteria) it is also homogenized. This process involves braking down fat particles to make them smaller and to be spread more homogeneously though the liquid. When consumed these particles then have a risk of entering directly into our bloodstream.

And then there is low fat milk, of course. The centrifugal force is applied to spin and strip the milk of fat globules and cream (to decrease fat content). Then some other solids are added to improve its texture and protein content.

I don’t know about you, but I do not want to drink something that has been so highly processed. Seriously, I’d rather take full fat cream, but in a smaller amount than drink a few glasses of this homogenized, spun, separated white liquid.

If you or your child enjoy a bowl of colorful cereal with low fat milk every morning, maybe it is time to consider a different option. Just think about the amount of extra additives and synthesized elements you are filing their bodies with.

And now, not less alarming, think about the nutrition you are missing on. Yeah, ever thought about why we are reaching out for a muffin at 10am? It may well be happening because our bodies start craving nutrition. We filled them up with empty nutrition-less food and we fee we need more!

Do not get sucked into the ease of ready-to-eat foods. Do not buy into the promise of health benefits that cereals producers are claiming to provide. Do not teach your children to reach for a box of cornflakes in the morning. Instead start a new breakfast routine and CHOOSE for yourself what it is you are putting in their bodies. Remember the food we eat becomes our bodies.

If we make a bit more effort and commit to finding foods that are natural and nutritional we are setting a positive example for our children. And by this we are influencing their important future choices. Choices that will keep them healthy, energetic and boost their brain power.

Ditch the cereal box, make yourself a breakfast.