Weekly Diet News Digest
by John McGran, Columnist

Not all breakfast cereals are created equal.

Some claim to be high in whole grains and fiber, to be a good source of vitamins and minerals, and to be good for your heart and cholesterol. Others however just want you to see their "wacky" cartoon characters and "fun" shapes and colors.

The biggest differences can be found in the nutrition information.

The following rankings come from a side-by-side comparison of over 50 of the most popular breakfast cereals from Post, Kellogg's, General Mills and more.

The original research and feature was done by www.acaloriecounter.com. I thought it would make a good eye-opener for you!

The Best Breakfast Cereals

Here are the cereals that came across as being the most healthy. To be considered, they had to contain absolutely no trans fat. Second, they had to contain no saturated fat. Third, they had to contain little to no sugar. Then, fiber content was taken into account.

Protein content and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) were also considered.

* Cheerios (General Mills)
* Shredded Wheat (Post)
* Fiber One (General Mills)
* Grape Nuts (Post)
* Wheaties (General Mills)
* Total (General Mills)
* GOLEAN Cereal (Kashi)
* All-Bran (Kellogg's)
* Wheat Chex (General Mills)

The Worst Breakfast Cereals

Any cereal that contained trans fat was automatically added to this list, as trans fat is easily the most unhealthy ingredient a cereal could have. Every cereal that contained 10 or more grams of sugar per serving (sugar which didn't come from actual fruit) made this list as well.

* Honey Smacks (Kellogg's)
* Corn Pops (Kellogg's)
* Apple Jacks (Kellogg's)
* Franken Berry (General Mills)
* Trix (General Mills)
* Eggo Cereal Maple Syrup (Kellogg's)
* Basic 4 (General Mills)
* Smorz (Kellogg's)
* Oreo O's (Post)
* Froot Loops (Kellogg's)
* Cocoa Puffs (General Mills)
* Count Chocula (General Mills)
* Waffle Crisp (Post)
* Reese's Puffs (General Mills)
* Mini-Swirlz Cinnamon Bun (Kellogg's)
* Frosted Krispies (Kellogg's)
* Cocoa Pebbles (Post)
* Fruity Pebbles (Post)
* Cookie Crisp (General Mills)
* Frosted Flakes (Kellogg's)
* Golden Grahams (General Mills)
* Lucky Charms (General Mills)
* Rice Krispies Treats Cereal (Kellogg's)

NOTE: There were over 50 cereals in this comparison; a good portion of them didn't make the best or worst list. What that means is that none of those cereals fit the description of being either the VERY best, or the VERY worst. This doesn't mean they are healthy, and this doesn't mean they are unhealthy. It just means that they aren't at the very top in either category.

For more information check out http://www.acaloriecounter.com/breakfast-cereal.php