Is your breakfast cereal healthy?

I have a confession: I like cereal.

我有一个坦白：我喜欢麦片。

And not just a little.

而且不只一点点。

When I was a kid, I'd have ready-to-eat breakfast cereal in the morning and again after dinner as dessert.

当我还是个孩子的时候，我早上会吃即食早餐麦片，晚餐后也会吃即食麦片作为甜点。

Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, and Rice Krispies were in regular rotation.

葡萄干麸皮、玉米片和脆米花定期轮换。

And if there was milk left over after finishing the cereal, I'd do what so many other cereal lovers do: add more cereal until the milk and cereal disappear together.

如果吃完麦片后还有剩余的牛奶，我会像许多其他麦片爱好者所做的那样：添加更多麦片，直到牛奶和麦片一起消失。

Cereal is still on my short list of favorite foods.

谷物仍然在我最喜欢的食物清单上。

I'm not alone in this.

我并不孤单。

In the US, more than a quarter of children and adolescents devour ready-to-eat cereal for breakfast most days of the week.

在美国，超过四分之一的儿童和青少年在一周的大部分时间里都吃即食麦片作为早餐。

Among adults, around half eat cereal at least once or twice a week.

在成年人中，大约一半的人每周至少吃一到两次谷物。

Beloved athletes often appear on cereal boxes and a number of celebrities have proclaimed their love for the stuff, including Jerry Seinfeld and Justin Timberlake .

深受喜爱的运动员经常出现在麦片盒上，许多名人都表达了对这些东西的喜爱，包括杰瑞·宋飞 (Jerry Seinfeld) 和贾斯汀·汀布莱克 (Justin Timberlake)。

Part of the appeal is advertising touting cereal as a healthy choice.

部分吸引力在于广告宣传麦片是一种健康的选择。

A 2025 study of more than 600 breakfast cereals disputes this, particularly for many cereal all-stars.

2025 年对 600 多种早餐谷物食品进行的一项研究对此提出了异议，尤其是对许多全明星谷物早餐而言。

Not so much.

没那么多。

Many - perhaps, most - of the biggest names in the cereal world have a lot of sugar, minimal protein before adding milk, a bunch of additives, and not much else.

许多——也许是大多数——谷类食品界最知名的品牌都含有大量的糖、添加牛奶之前的极少量蛋白质、一堆添加剂，除此之外就没有太多其他成分。

Some don't even have much fiber, a feature that is supposed to make breakfast cereal a healthy choice.

有些甚至没有太多纤维，这一特性应该使早餐麦片成为健康的选择。

And, you know the 120 to 150 calorie count often listed on the side of the box?

而且，您知道盒子侧面经常列出的 120 到 150 卡路里热量吗？

Turns out that the actual portions many people consume (including me) can easily soar past 300 calories at a time.

事实证明，许多人（包括我）的实际摄入量一次很容易飙升到 300 卡路里以上。

And what about eye-catching boasts like "heart healthy," "high in vitamins," "all natural," or "part of a healthy breakfast"?

那么诸如“心脏健康”、“维生素含量高”、“纯天然”或“健康早餐的一部分”等引人注目的夸耀又如何呢？

Unfortunately, researchers have found little connection between health claims and overall nutritional content .

不幸的是，研究人员发现健康声明与总体营养成分之间几乎没有联系。

In fact, for many cereals, the bulk of the nutritional value relies on something that's not even in the box: milk.

事实上，对于许多谷物来说，大部分营养价值都依赖于盒子里没有的东西：牛奶。

Here are the seven top-selling breakfast cereals in the US:

以下是美国最畅销的七种早餐麦片：

Most are sweet, highly processed, and have lots of empty calories.

大多数都是甜的，经过高度加工，并且含有大量空热量。

Some add vitamins, though usually in small amounts, while others sprinkle in sodium (salt) you don't need.

有些添加了维生素，尽管通常含量很少，而另一些则撒上您不需要的钠（盐）。

Playing up potentially healthy features such as fiber content while ignoring high sugar and calories is common.

强调纤维含量等潜在的健康特征，而忽视高糖和卡路里是很常见的。

And cutting out artificial colors and flavoring won't transform these cereals into healthy or nutrient-dense foods.

去除人工色素和调味剂并不会将这些谷物变成健康或营养丰富的食物。

A study published in May 2025 found just the opposite.

2025 年 5 月发表的一项研究发现恰恰相反。

It looked at the nutritional value of 1,200 ready-to-eat cereals marketed to children that were new or reformulated between 2010 and 2023 and noted a clear trend in the wrong direction: increasing amounts of fat, sodium, and sugar along with decreasing protein and fiber.

该报告研究了 2010 年至 2023 年间向儿童销售的 1,200 种新的或重新配制的即食谷物食品的营养价值，并指出了一个明显的错误方向趋势：脂肪、钠和糖含量增加，而蛋白质和纤维含量减少。

Fortunately, there are efforts underway to improve the types of cereals kids eat: USDA guidelines for school breakfast programs this year aim to gradually reduce the amount of sugar and salt and increase the amount of whole grains required.

幸运的是，人们正在努力改善孩子们吃的谷物种类：美国农业部今年的学校早餐计划指南旨在逐步减少糖和盐的含量，并增加所需的全谷物含量。

When it comes to breakfast choices, surely we can do better than sugar-packed, high-calorie, low-nutrient cereals that are hyped by marketers (especially to kids) and sell so well.

在早餐选择方面，我们当然可以比营销人员（尤其是针对儿童）大肆宣传且卖得很好的高糖、高热量、低营养谷物食品做得更好。

One option, of course, is to switch to healthier breakfast foods like oatmeal with a sprinkle of fruit and nuts, eggs, yogurt with fruit, or peanut butter on whole grain toast.

当然，一种选择是改吃更健康的早餐食品，比如燕麦片加水果和坚果、鸡蛋、酸奶加水果，或者全麦吐司加花生酱。

But if you're as stuck on ready-to-eat breakfast cereal as I am, check the nutrition label for these healthy aspects:

但如果您像我一样坚持吃即食早餐麦片，请检查营养标签以了解以下健康方面：

Examples of cereals that fulfill most of these include Shredded Wheat, Kashi Go Lean, Cheerios, and All-Bran.

满足大部分要求的谷物食品包括碎小麦、Kashi Go Lean、Cheerios 麦片和全麦麸。

If you like ready-to-eat breakfast cereal, it's not the worst thing out there, especially when served with skim or non-dairy milks that are high in protein or have been fortified with it.

如果您喜欢即食早餐麦片，这并不是最糟糕的事情，尤其是与蛋白质含量高或经过强化的脱脂或非乳制牛奶一起食用时。

But be selective and careful about portion control.

但要有选择性并小心控制份量。

A healthy breakfast helps fuel your body and should be more than sweet, crunchy junk food masquerading as a nutritious meal.

健康的早餐有助于为身体提供能量，并且不应该是伪装成营养餐的甜脆垃圾食品。

Robert H.

罗伯特·H.

Shmerling, MD , Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing

Shmerling，医学博士，哈佛健康出版社高级编辑；哈佛健康出版社编辑顾问委员会成员

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作为为读者提供的一项服务，哈佛健康出版社提供对我们存档内容库的访问。

Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.

请注意所有文章的最后审查或更新日期。

No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

本网站上的任何内容，无论日期如何，都不应替代您的医生或其他合格临床医生的直接医疗建议。

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将最新的健康新闻发送到您的收件箱！