Nutritional aspects of breakfast cereals

Eating breakfast is part of healthy eating patterns and is shown to be associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases and obesity. The nutritional quality of breakfast cereals is very important, as they may contribute significantly to daily intake of energy, carbohydrate, protein, dietary fiber, vitamin, and mineral. The nutritional quality is the sum of the raw materials and ingredients used and how they are processed. Addition of sugar and accessibility of glucose in starch are factors influencing glycemic response of breakfast cereals, but these can be affected by processing. Optimization of nutrition and sensory quality is important as the former is critical for health and the latter influences consumer acceptability. Improving sensory quality of whole grains, cereal brans, and other cereal fibers in breakfast cereals promotes their use in formulation so that processors no longer rely only on refined grains. This strategy is recommended to increase the intake of phytochemicals and vitamins and minerals and inherent grain fiber in breakfast cereals. Intakes of whole grain and bran breakfast cereals, such as eating breakfast, have been associated with better biomarkers, glucose control, and blood lipid profiles. In addition, there is reduced risk of gaining weight over time and of mortality from diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.