Are Cornflakes Healthy for Breakfast? [CEREALS & SUGAR]

I’ve been learning about breakfast cultures and recipes across the world including what could be the best breakfast foods to eat, and cornflakes made my list.

I researched how healthy they are, and if they’re really good to eat every day.

Here’s what I found.

However, most nutritionists would agree that eating fresh corn is better than the processed corn that’s found in cornflakes.

But, most people don’t eat fresh corn either as a soup or from a can, and cornflakes are very convenient.

There are healthier options that have been shown scientifically to increase your health.

So, I’ll discuss those below as well as more detailed information about what exactly is in more cornflakes that you buy in stores today, and how they’re made.

Just How Healthy Are Cornflakes For Breakfast?

According to a comprehensive study done at Harvard, fresh fruits and vegetables are healthier for you because cooked fruits and vegetables have fewer nutrients.

Cornflakes are cooked many times over when they’re made. So, they aren’t the healthiest breakfast you can have.

A study by a Professor at Cardiff University looked at the ability of people to do mentally demanding tasks after they ate cornflakes.

It showed that there was a slight increase when compared to not eating anything at all.

So, it’s 100% better to eat cornflakes for breakfast than not eating anything at all.

But, only very slightly.

However, cornflakes are very convenient – you can pour a bowl, add some milk and you’re good to.

Which is a big reason why they’re so popular.

They’re also very inexpensive, and they taste great.

Now, let’s take a closer look at how cornflakes are made to see how dry they are.

The way they make cornflakes is to first grind up fresh corn.

They then cook it, after that its ground up again, and cooked again. This process is repeated many times.

Finally, it’s pressed flat. In the process, the corn is completely dried.

They then cover them in sugar and salt, which tricks your taste buds.

And makes you think you’re eating food that’s more nutritious and good for you than it is.

Most people add yogurt, fruit, and sugar to make them taste really delicious.

You can also buy frosted cornflakes which are essentially just cornflakes that are coated in sugar.

Here’s a video of how they’re made:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPpMV_vcVEg&ab_channel=BosworthAcademy

In my opinion, the cornflake-making process removes all the vitamins A, B, and C and other nutrients.

But, I have yet to find a side by side comparison between fresh corn, cooked corn, and cornflakes.

Eating cornflakes every day should be fine as long as you only eat a small amount.

A bowl in the morning of roughly half a cup of cornflakes isn’t enough to cause any change to your body chemistry.

Which would start to cause issues.

So, no, it’s perfectly fine to eat cornflakes every day.

It would be the equivalent of eating one corn on the cob a day, or an apple a day.

The only difference is that cornflakes contain fewer nutrients than fresh corn.

And some brands of cornflakes have added sugar and salt. Which may be excessive depending on your diet.

There are recommended daily intakes of sugar and salt that you should aim to not exceed every day.

But, as long as you are eating a balanced diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables, and meat.

Having just one bowl of cornflakes a day won’t have any adverse effects on your health.

It’s important to consider what your overall diet is to know if eating cornflakes everyday is good for you. 

If your diet includes lots of fast food or junk food, then you might want to consider having a healthier option rather than eating cornflakes.

Because they do have fewer nutrients than ordinary fruits and vegetables.

Maybe you could go with a bowl of fruit salad or a fruit smoothie for breakfast using raw fruits and vegetables instead.

On a side note, most people’s grandparents lived until they were about 75 years of age on the diet they ate.

So, as long as your diet doesn’t deviate from what they ate too much you should naturally live about as long as them. And be in similar health.

To get a very clear definitive answer for yourself, you can also get complex blood testing done from a blood lab.

This will tell you what your nutrient levels exactly.

And you can supplement your diet as you need to based on your specific body type, and what you eat.

This means if you want to stay sharp throughout the morning, you should combine them with slower releasing foods such as milk, and nuts.

Many mueslis include cornflakes with oats, raisins, nuts, coconut, and other foods. In my opinion, they are healthier, more nutritious, and also taste better.

That will make you feel better throughout the morning, and also fill you up for longer.

Another option is to buy cornflakes that are low in sugar. You can look at the amount of energy on the label and compare the different brands to see which have the lowest.

The cornflakes with the lowest energy will have the lowest sugar.

Cornflakes are normally considered breakfast food. But, many people eat cereal in the evening because it’s kind of like a desert.

And it’s really fast to prepare. In my opinion there isn’t any problem with eating cornflakes at night, as long as you’re aware of the sugar issue.

Cornflakes are neither healthy or unhealthy to eat for breakfast.

But, because of how they’re made they aren’t as healthy as normal corn, or fresh fruit and vegetables.

Then after an hour or so you have a sugar crash where you lose energy and feel sleepy.

You can also combine cornflakes with foods that release energy slowly like nuts and oats, to keep your energy levels more even.