Spent $40 on a 'natural' cereal that was basically sugar

I grabbed this box that said 'made with whole grains' and 'no artificial flavors' last week, thinking it was a healthy choice. Turns out the second ingredient was brown sugar syrup and it had 15 grams of added sugar per serving. I felt so ripped off because the front made it sound so good. I'm trying to cut back on sugar, so this was a total waste of money. What other sneaky words should I look for on the front of the box that actually mean 'lots of sugar'?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara_brown391mo ago

That's so frustrating, I've been there. Actually, it's good to check the front, but the real truth is always in the ingredients list on the back or side. Words like "made with real fruit" or "honey sweetened" on the front are big red flags for lots of sugar. The order of ingredients matters most, so if any syrup or sugar is in the first three items, it's basically a dessert.

haydenj901mo ago

But isn't honey still just sugar once it's in your body? The label makes it sound natural, but it spikes your blood sugar the same way. Companies bank on that healthy image to trick you. It's all about the grams on the nutrition label, not the fancy name for the sweetener.

skylerowens1mo ago

Wait, honey sweetened is a red flag too? I thought that was supposed to be the healthy swap.