Latest news with #breakfast
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
The most popular breakfast food for kids has gotten even unhealthier. Here's what to serve instead
Sign up for CNN's Eat, But Better: Mediterranean Style. Our eight-part guide shows you a delicious expert-backed eating lifestyle that will boost your health for life. We all know that breakfast is an important meal, and even more so for children. Abundant research has demonstrated the benefit of nutritious breakfasts on children's health, well-being and academic performance. Ready-to-eat cereals are the predominant breakfast choice among American children, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that may not be the best option for growing children and adolescents. In newly launched cereals between 2010 and 2023, there were significant increases in fat, sodium and sugar and decreases in protein and fiber content, according to a new research study in JAMA Network Open. I wanted to better understand the implications for parents who want to learn about healthier options for their children. To help guide us, I spoke with CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen. Wen is an emergency physician and adjunct associate professor at George Washington University. She previously served as Baltimore's health commissioner and is the mother of two school-aged kids. CNN: How did these researchers study ready-to-eat cereals? Dr. Leana Wen: This study utilized a comprehensive database that tracks new product launches for food and beverages. Researchers examined cereal products that launched in the US market between 2010 and 2023 that were explicitly marketed to children ages 5 to 12 years old. During this period, about 1,200 children's ready-to-eat cereals were launched. Compared to 2010, total fat per serving increased 33.6%; sodium content increased by 32.1%; and sugar by 10.9%. On the other hand, both protein content and dietary fiber content decreased when comparing 2010 to 2023. Notably, the average amount of added sugar is so high that a single serving of children's cereal is more than 45% of the American Heart Association's total daily recommended limit for children, according to the authors. CNN: Were you surprised by these findings? Wen: Frankly, yes. In recent years, many studies have shown the importance of a healthy breakfast to children's well-being. Moreover, studies have demonstrated the problems associated with high levels of added sugar, sodium and fat content in food. Ultraprocessed foods laden with these additives have been associated with a myriad of negative health consequences, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and premature death. What's upsetting to me is that many products that are ultraprocessed and contain high levels of unhealthy ingredients are being marketed as being 'healthy.' A 2024 study published in the journal Nutrients found that 60% of foods marketed to children ages 6 months to 36 months on 10 supermarkets' shelves failed to meet recommended nutritional guidelines from the World Health Organization for infant and toddler foods. Virtually none of these meet WHO's standards for advertising— instead they contained inaccurate health claims or failed to have clear labeling. All of this makes it hard for parents and families who want to choose healthier options for their children. CNN: What advice do you have for parents who want to feed their children healthier breakfasts? Wen: Parents should consider options outside of ready-made cereal. Some options for healthy breakfasts include steel-cut oats with honey and fresh fruit and whole-grain bread with peanut butter. Kids may also like eggs; no-sugar-added yogurt, which still has sugar in it; smoothies made with milk and fresh fruit; and homemade muffins. For parents looking for grab-and-go breakfasts, consider fresh fruit, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, muffins, smoothies and whole-grain bagels with low-fat cream cheese. CNN: What if parents want to serve cereal? What should they look for on the label? Wen: As a parent who has tried to find healthy cereals for my kids, I know myself that it is very hard to go through the cereal aisle and make sense of the packaging that claim the cereal is healthy. The best thing to do is to look at the label for each cereal you are considering. First, look for whole grains. Ideally, the label says that the cereal has 100% whole grain. Then, look at the sugar content. It's best to have added sugar of less than 9 grams per serving . According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 10 grams per serving would already be 20% of the entire amount of added sugar someone is recommended to consume a day, if they have a 2,000 calorie diet. Try to find cereals with no food dyes or low-calorie sweeteners. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has a list of relatively healthier cereals. From a policy perspective, last year, the US Food and Drug Administration proposed a front-of-package label that would make it easier for consumers to know how products compare with regard to their added sugar, salt and saturated fat content. I think these improved labels can help if they are implemented. US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made reducing ultraprocessed food a centerpiece of his 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda. Perhaps there will be policy solutions Kennedy will announce that can make it easier for families to opt for healthier choices. CNN: In the meantime, should parents avoid cereals and switch to other breakfast products? What do you do with your kids? Wen: I think the takeaway should be simply knowing that many cereals marketed to children are not the most nutritious choices. This doesn't mean children should never be served these cereals but try to serve them in moderation or as a treat. Since I became aware of just how laden with additives our favorite cereals were, I began to serve my kids these cereals only as a treat, opting usually for milk served with steel-cut oats or whole-grain toast and peanut butter. On days when they have cereal, I make sure to tell them it's a treat — just as I tell them it's a treat when they have cookies and cupcakes. And then I try to make sure that their other meals are healthy. CNN: Do you have other advice for families trying to make more nutritional choices? Wen: It's best to aim for meals with whole foods that are minimally processed, such as whole grains, fresh fruits, leafy green vegetables, legumes, fish and lean meat. Also keep in mind that what kids drink is just as important as what they eat. Stay away from sodas, juice drinks, energy drinks and other drinks with caffeine and high amounts of added sugar.
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
Aldi discontinues popular breakfast must-have leaving shoppers gutted
A POPULAR Aldi breakfast item has been discontinued leaving shoppers absolutely gutted. The breakfast item was a favourite among Aldi shoppers who have been left in the dark over its absence. 3 Aldi quietly removed the Specially Selected Caramel Layered Yogurt from its shelves. Shoppers only discovered the yogurt was discontinued after failing to find it in their local shop. The product was a favourite among Aldi shoppers who have been gutted by its disappearance. Aldi have listed the item as "currently unavailable" on their website giving no indication of when or why it was pulled from shelves. Some shoppers have reported spotting a similar product in Lidl stores. The yogurt was reportedly replaced with a lemon layered flavour. Other layered yogurt flavours are still available at the retailer online and in store. Venting their frustration with the quiet disappearance of their breakfast favourite shoppers took to social media. One disappointed shopper said: "I've been looking for several weeks and they have not had it in stock in 3 local stores. I have it with their chocolate granola." Other retailers appear to be selling the product or a dupe of the product. One online retailer lists the item in stock for only 75p and shoppers in European countries are still able to purchase the item from Aldi stores. The yogurt sold in 150g tubs for less than £1 when it was in stock. 3 It was described on packaging as "indulgent" with caramel sauce layered throughout the yogurt. Aldi is selling a replacement product, a four pack of Greek style layered salted caramel yogurts, but these are not specially selected. Other flavours of the specially selected layered yogurts are still available on Aldi shelves. These include lemon, blackberry and blackcurrant, mango and vanilla, raspberry and passion fruit and strawberry. Aldi have not issued any statement on the yogurt flavour being discontinued. The product was quietly removed from shelves with no warning given to shoppers. Several hopeful customers spent weeks visiting different stores and scouring the shelves looking for the breakfast favourite. Why are products axed or recipes changed? ANALYSIS by chief consumer reporter James Flanders. Food and drinks makers have been known to tweak their recipes or axe items altogether. They often say that this is down to the changing tastes of customers. There are several reasons why this could be done. For example, government regulation, like the "sugar tax," forces firms to change their recipes. Some manufacturers might choose to tweak ingredients to cut costs. They may opt for a cheaper alternative, especially when costs are rising to keep prices stable. For example, Tango Cherry disappeared from shelves in 2018. It has recently returned after six years away but as a sugar-free version. Fanta removed sweetener from its sugar-free alternative earlier this year. Suntory tweaked the flavour of its flagship Lucozade Original and Orange energy drinks. While the amount of sugar in every bottle remains unchanged, the supplier swapped out the sweetener aspartame for sucralose.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Why you should eat breakfast early
Well+Being Why you should eat breakfast early May 31, 2025 | 4:11 PM GMT Our bodies release insulin in the morning and melatonin in the evening — key factors in how much our blood sugar can spike after a meal. What the science says about intermittent fasting Related
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘He obviously decided that he'd wasted his life, focusing on career, marriage and family goals'
Sorcha tells me that I need to do something and obviously, I'm like, 'Er – as in?' Yeah, no, Angela – the wife of my brother slash half-brother – has been on the phone from the States and Sorcha is running out of excuses. I'm fixing breakfast for the boys when the dude eventually arrives downstairs in the company of a woman named Rowena, who wears leather trousers, has a smoker's cough and works – so she says – in, like, hospitality? She goes, 'I wouldn't say no to a coffee.' READ MORE And Sorcha's like, 'Well, if the walk of shame takes you through Dalkey village, I can recommend the Country Bake.' I love my wife, but – yeah, no – she can be colder than a witch's tit. Rowena, by the way, is the third random woman that Brett has brought home this week. 'So come on, tell us,' Sorcha goes – this is right in front of her, by the way – 'where did you meet this one?' It's Rowena who answers. She's like, 'Tinder,' and then the woman looks at me and sort of, like, narrows her eyes, like I do when I'm trying to add two numbers together, and goes, 'Do I know you from somewhere?' I'm there, 'If you're a rugby fan, then possibly?' She's like, 'No, nothing to do with rugby, no,' in her husky voice. 'Your face is just–' I put a cup of coffee in front of her, portly to shut her up, but also because it's nice to be nice. Sorcha goes, 'Brett, Angela has been ringing – as in, like, your wife?' I think she's expecting a reaction form Rowena to the news that he's married. But she doesn't respond in any way. Just sips her coffee. It's not her first rodeo. I'm there, 'No, I'm most definitely not on the apps,' except at the same time I can feel my face flush? — Ross Sorcha goes, 'She said she's been trying your cell.' He's there, 'I lost my cell.' Sorcha's like, 'How can you be on Tinder if you've lost your cell?' Very little gets past her. Twenty years of being married to me will do that to you. Rowena goes, 'That's how I know your face! Are you on the apps?' I'm there, 'No, I'm most definitely not on the apps,' except at the same time I can feel my face flush? She's like, 'We've definitely met.' Brian, Johnny and Leo are unusually quiet. They're just, like, staring at this woman, open-mouthed. Johnny is actually looking at her chest. Like father, like son, I'm hugely tempted to say. Sorcha cops it too. She goes, 'Johnny, eat your cereal,' and then, at the same time, she gestures to me with her eyes that she wants a word in, like, private? Thirty seconds later, we're outside in the gorden and Sorcha is going, 'Ross, what the actual fock?' I'm there, 'Yeah, no, I'll tell him to go. I'll tell him that we don't approve of this kind of behaviour under our roof,' at the same time hating myself for sounding like Sorcha's old man. She goes, 'Ross, what did you say to him?' I'm there, 'Excuse me?' because I knew I'd end up getting the blame for this. She's like, 'The way he's carrying on, Ross, it's very – I don't even want to say it – but very you behaviour?' I'm there, 'I knew I'd end up being blamed.' She goes, 'It's not a question of blame. I'm just asking, what did you do to encourage this?' I'm like, 'Fock-all, Sorcha. And I mean that literally. The goys – we're talking Christian, we're talking JP, we're talking Oisinn, we're talking, in fairness, Fionn – may have told him some stories about my carry-on over the years in terms of rugby and in terms of – yeah, no – the deadlier of the species. And Brett, who may have already been in, like, midlife crisis mode, decided that I was – yeah, no – some kind of, like, role model to him?' Sorcha goes, 'Oh, Jesus – God help him.' It's nice to see that Sorcha – while being a very, very good person – remains, at hort, an out-and-out south Dublin snob I'm like, 'Excuse me?' because it sounded like a bit of a dig. She's there, 'I just mean – actually, I don't know what I mean? But this can't continue. It was Amory on Saturday night, Summer on Wednesday night and, I don't know, what did she say her name was?' I'm there, 'Rowena,' a little too quickly for Sorcha's liking. 'She said she works in, like, hospitality?' She's like, 'Rowena – whatever. With her leather trousers and a focking black bra showing through a white shirt.' And it's nice to see that Sorcha – while being a very, very good person – remains, at hort, an out-and-out south Dublin snob. She goes, 'Ross, you have to talk to him.' I'm there, 'Excuse me?' She's like, 'Ross, he's only in Ireland because of you. You were the one who–' I'm there, 'Don't say it. Do not say it.' She's like, 'I'm going to say it, Ross. You corrupted him.' I go, 'I didn't corrupt him? Like I said, the goys made me out to be some kind of absolute rugby legend and he obviously decided that he'd wasted his life, focusing on career, marriage and family goals.' She's like, 'Ross, even without being directly responsible, you basically caused this? You're going to have to talk to him and tell him that this can't continue.' So – yeah, no – no choice in the matter, I end up agreeing to have a word with the dude. So we tip back into the kitchen. I could be wrong but it looks like Rowena has undone another shirt button. I'm there, 'Dude, all that shit the goys told you about my rugby career–' He goes, 'It was inspiring.' I'm like, 'Yes, I accept that. But no good can come of you trying to live like me.' He's there, 'Why not? I mean, look at you!' It's lovely for me to hear. I'm there, 'That's lovely for me to hear. But you have everything going for you back in the States, in terms of – yeah, no – a hot wife, a beautiful home, a couple of, in fairness, kids–' He cuts me off. He's like, 'Well, maybe I don't want that any more. Maybe that's not the end of the rainbow for me.' I'm there, 'Oh, you're telling me that's the end of your rainbow,' flicking my thumb in Rowena's general postcode and hating myself for it. 'Dude, that woman is not the end of anyone's rainbow.' Rowena goes, 'Oh my God, I remembered how I know you now. I was with you a few years ago – when you crashed the porty for the closing of the Berkeley Court?' And I'm like, 'Sorcha, we were almost certainly on a break at the time.'
Mail & Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mail & Guardian
Simphiwe Dana reflects on two decades of music
Unknown place: Simphiwe Dana says that the album she is working on could be the final one she writes but that she will carry on performing and collaborating. I have experienced Simphiwe Dana's compelling presence on stage many times. Not to say that was her entire personality — no, Dana is much more. But there are only a few people we meet in life, from close or from a distance, and can instantly tell — they do not walk alone. Their spirit is that of our forefathers. It carries weight and respect. It announces itself quietly, with humility, yet with a magnitude impossible to ignore. Now imagine having those thoughts first thing on a Monday morning. My nerves were jittering so intensely, I forgot to have breakfast. It's not every day that one gets to speak to a voice that has held us through joy, through protest, through heartbreak and healing. At 10am sharp, as agreed with her PR person, I dialled her number. No answer. I stared at the phone. What now? Before I could decide my next move, the phone rang. Dana. 'I am so sorry I missed your call; I was just making breakfast,' she said, her voice as textured and calm as I had remembered it from countless interviews and performances. 'Do you want a few minutes to eat? I also haven't had breakfast yet,' I offered. 'Perfect,' she responded. 'Go make food and a cup of tea or coffee and I will call you back in a few,' she said. I had to pause. Am I about to have a telephonic breakfast with Simphiwe Dana? Surely, I have lived a full life. She called me back in 10 minutes. Coffee on her end. Rooibos on mine. What followed was an encounter with a soul who has been documenting the collective inner life of a nation for over two decades. Dana's debut album Zandisile, released in 2004, earned her instant acclaim and multiple South African Music Awards (Samas). I was so young but I still remember how Ndiredi played on every radio station and on every music show on TV like an anthem. It was a moment — a feeling. Maybe I didn't understand it fully then but I felt it. We all did. Dana has released a string of powerful and genre-defying albums. From One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street (2006), a bold and unapologetic celebration of black consciousness, to Kulture Noir (2010), which won her Best Female Artist and Best Contemporary Jazz Album at the Samas, Dana has always fused the traditional with the contemporary, the spiritual with the political. Her 2014 album Firebrand further cemented her place as a torchbearer of artistic activism, and in 2021, she offered Bamako, an emotionally rich and musically layered project that she partly recorded in Mali. Over 20 years since then. A number so large, even Dana herself marvels at it. 'I am really not good at celebrating myself,' she tells me. 'I always feel quite awkward about it. But this one feels different. I am giving back to a community that has given me so much for two decades. 'The response from them is thankfulness — and actually, I am the one who is thankful.' Dana will be celebrating her career at the Baxter Theatre Concert Hall, in Cape Town, on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 June. This reciprocity between her and her listeners is sacred, almost spiritual. There is something in her tone that suggests gratitude but not in the usual platitudinal way. It's embodied. 'Something that is rare in life is that someone can live off doing something that they love. I am one such person. That has been given to me by people who listen to my work.' Reflecting on Zandisile, she tells me: 'When I listen to Zandisile today I think to myself, 'I was so young and wide-eyed.' I feel like I have always been old — and I am not talking about age. 'In many ways, I feel like I have not changed much from that young girl. I am not as naive anymore but the old soul thing has made me remain the same.' That old soul presence — it is something you feel when Dana walks into a room or when her voice travels through speakers and enters you. She is not tethered to the conventional measurement of age. She is measured in spirit. 'Now I am understanding why the likes of Bra Hugh Masekela were so youthful,' she says. 'Because I think he carried the same spirit.' Dana is working on a new album — one she feels might be her final one. 'This could possibly be my last album that I write,' she says. 'It is treating me differently. Not musically, but it is pushing me into an unknown place.' Not a statement of resignation, but of transformation: 'There is nothing to be sad about. I will still be performing and collaborating. There is so much I still could do. 'The thing about writing is that you usually have to take time away — and with me, it happens to be at least three years. It is very taxing on the mind and spirit. I feel like it takes years off my life … Writing is not for the weak.' She says this not with despair, but with an honesty that has long been her signature. Writing, for Dana, is not just creative — it is ritual. It demands from her. Dana's work has always carried a sharp socio-political consciousness. Her lyrics live in the hearts of the people. They ask, they challenge, they comfort, they uplift. 'As artists, we are watchers and observers. I have gone through many phases and I felt every phase that we have gone through as a country. As they say, the personal is the political.' The music is her lens. 'I try to understand why people do the things that they do in power. I try to understand if there is something that they are seeing that I am not seeing and I do that through the music. 'I am listening to the people and probing things that they care about. I literally have my ear on the ground.' She pauses. 'I write about things that bother me. The state of the country right now is something that is always on my mind. Right now, I am trying to understand who we have become and who we will be in the future.' And always, in true Dana fashion, she adds: 'Even when things are dire, there is hope.' Dana's music is often described as spiritual. It is not just because of the sonic choices or the lyrical content. It is because she is a messenger. 'Music is from our ancestors. I am a conduit. And I must honour my gift. I have to be responsible for my gift and take care of that gift by taking care of myself.' Twenty years on, I ask her which songs from her rich discography still move her as much as they've moved us. 'Songs like Nzinga — singing that song live definitely moves me. It's an adaptation of a Jonas Gwangwa song called Flowers of the Nation. I used to hear him perform it live. I would rush out and listen with my hands in the air. For me, that song is church. It is Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika.' She also mentions Lakutshon' ilanga, Mayime and Inkwenkwezi. And then I ask what she would tell her younger self — Simphiwe at 24, wide-eyed, dropping Zandisile into the world. 'I would tell her to go to therapy and deal with your childhood trauma. Don't use it as some kind of fact of your story season. Deal with your trauma as soon as possible.' My rooibos has gone cold. I imagine her coffee has, too. But her voice still lingers — clear, intentional, present. Simphiwe Dana is not just a singer. She is a witness. A question. A balm. A voice from the sacred hills. And if this next album is her last, we must receive it not with sorrow but reverence. She is not done. Not by a long stretch.
