Some of The Most Unhealthy Cereals in America
Update 12/2/14 (3:07 p.m.): Updated from a previous version with correct nutrition information for Post Alpha Bits, Post Cocoa Pebbles, and Post Fruity Pebbles.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- There are few better ways to start the day than with a big bowl of cereal and milk. But let's be honest here, we all know that the delicious cereal in the colorful box is great on the tongue, but not so much on the stomach.
There are plenty of high-fiber, low-sugar options out there, but the cereal you likely remember eating during your childhood while you watched Saturday morning cartoons probably isn't one of them. But is your favorite cereal among the most unhealthy? Does your favorite cereal basically amount to pouring packets of sugar into your mouth?
The Daily Meal compiled a list of the 10 most unhealthy cereals based on the percentage of sugar per serving, and The Daily Beast also weighed in with some choices of its own. So without further ado, let's survey the damage and take a look at the 15 most unhealthy cereals.
15) Post Chocolate Honeycombs
Sugar per serving: 9 grams
Post first introduced Honeycombs in 1965 and later released three varieties: Chocolate Honeycombs, Strawberry Blasted Honeycombs and Cinna-Graham Honeycombs.
14) Post Alpha Bits
Sugar per serving: 6 grams (1 cup cereal with 1/2 cup fat free milk)
Alpha Bits may be fun and educational, but they aren't so nice to our bodies, with 6 grams of sugar per serving. Post introduced the cereal in 1958, took it off the market in 2006, and re-introduced it in 2008. The company also released Marshmallow Alpha-Bits for the first time in 1990.
13) Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats
Sugar per serving: 9 grams
Rice Krispies Treats cereal might be most famous for the three little elves on the box, but they also pack plenty of sugar and carbohydrates (26 grams, to be exact) in each serving.
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12) Post Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles
Sugar per serving: 10 grams for Cocoa Pebbles and 9 grams for Fruity Pebbles (3/4 cup cereal)
It's easy to understand why Fred Flintstone yelled at his best friend Barney Rubble in those commercials for interfering with his Pebbles cereals. After all, they're delicious! But Cocoa Pebbles contain 10 grams of sugar and 25 grams of carbohydrates per serving, while Fruity Pebbles pack in 9 grams of sugar and 23 grams of carbohydrates.
11) Kellogg's Raisin Bran
Sugar per serving: 18 grams
You might think Raisin Bran leans toward the healthy side, what with the "bran" in the name and all, but this cereal packs a wallop in the sugar department. Despite this, Raisin Bran has been around since 1926 and shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon.
10) Kellogg's Froot Loops
Percentage of sugar per serving: 41%, 14.5 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
Kellogg's released Froot Loops for the first time in 1962, and today the colorful Toucan Sam on the box is a widely recognized character. The loops are coated with a layer of sugar, so it's no surprise that the delicious, fruity rings make the list.
9) Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries
Percentage of sugar per serving: 42%, 14.8 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
The first Cap'n Crunch cereal came out in 1963, and this first variation on the classic debuted in 1967. Today, the berries come in red, blue, green and violet colors.
8) Kellogg's Apple Jacks
Percentage of sugar per serving: 43%, 15 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
Apple Jacks first hit the market as "Apple O's" in 1965 but switched to its current name in 1971. Apple Jacks also introduced a variation called Cinnamon Jacks in 2013.
7-6) (Tie) Quaker Oats' Oh!s
Percentage of sugar per serving: 44%, 15.6 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
This honey graham-flavored cereal debuted in 1980. It originally came in "Crunchy Graham" and "Honey Nut" flavors, but the company switched the names in 1988 to "Honey Graham" and "Crunchy Nut." Quaker then slowly phased out Crunchy Nut. Today, only Honey Graham is available.
7-6) (Tie) Cap'n Crunch
Percentage of sugar per serving: 44%, 15.6 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
As we said earlier, the original Cap'n Crunch came out in 1963 and spawned nearly 20 flavor varieties. And in case you ever need to know this for a trivia game, the Cap'n's original name was Horatio Magellan Crunch.
5) Kellogg's Smorz
Percentage of sugar per serving: 45%, 15.7 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
This is the newest entry on the list, as it debuted in 2003. Kellogg's discontinued it in December 2013 but replaced it with a s'mores flavor in its "Krave" lineup, which also contains chocolate and double chocolate varieties.
4) Cap'n Crunch's Oops! All Berries
Percentage of sugar per serving: 47%, 16.4 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
We've all picked out the marshmallows or colorful crisps and saved them for last after we get through the regular cereal. The Oops! All Berries saved us the trouble when it debuted in 1997.
3) Kellogg's Froot Loops Marshmallows
Percentage of sugar per serving: 48%, 16.9 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
How do you make a sugary cereal even more sugary? Add marshmallows! That's precisely what Kellogg's did to its ever-popular Froot Loops brand.
2) Golden Crisp
Percentage of sugar per serving: 52%, 18.1 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
Golden Crisp hit the market in 1949 as Sugar Crisp and went through several name changes to Super Sugar Crisp, Super Golden Crisp and the current Golden Crisp. The mascot on the box, however, is still called Sugar Bear.
1) Honey Smacks
Percentage of sugar per serving: 55%, 19.4 grams of sugar per 35-gram serving
The top entry on this list debuted, appropriately, as Sugar Smacks in 1953. The name changed to Honey Smacks, then Smacks, then back to Honey Smacks again. As The Daily Meal points out, one 35-gram serving equates to two Krispy Kreme doughnuts or nearly five packets of sugar. The mascot, Dig'em Frog, debuted in 1972 and went away briefly in 1986, but he's on the cereal box to this very day.
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Did your favorite cereal make the list? Let us know in the comments section.
