It's really tragic that lots of Americans think this kind of garbage is a healthier alternative to other kinds of breakfast. It may actually have less sugar than pancakes drenched in some disgusting syrup, but it's still garbage. There's a real problem with nutritional literacy in this country. The manufacturers of these products really aren't helping here either. Cheerios have a big 'CAN LOWER CHOLERSTEROL' plastered on the front of the pack, but the contents are still literally 24% added sugar.
That is still a good amount of sugar given it’s every day and setting your morning baseline. If taken with e.g. a refined juice or sweetened coffee, that’s probably setting one up for sugar cravings in a few hours.
A slice of bread (in the U.S.) has more than 1g of added sugar (and less than 140 calories). (If you know of any besides Ezekiel that have less sugar, I would like to hear about it.) I don't think it is fair to villainize Cheerios when it is one of the least offensive options among ultraprocessed breakfast cereals. Especially based on... other things that aren't Cheerios? Juice (20+ g sugar) and coffee sweetener (4+ g sugar) would be the villains in this scenario.
There's nothing wrong with the "can lower cholesterol" banner on it because it's a source of whole grains and it has no saturated fat. That combo generally does lower cholesterol when put to the test, and it probably is one of the best cereals in the aisle.
Directing people towards better alternatives is a good thing.
The Honey Nut Cheerios are glazed in sugar, but the plain Cheerios (to my taste) don't have much if any. Don't have any here to check the ingredients though. If I want cereal for breakfast I generally make plain oatmeal.
