"Cereal before bed? Food makers push ‘sleep’ snacks at night."
 

Blame that food industry for once again pushing high carbs and obesity?

https://wapo.st/3yItw4a :yuck:

Personally, I prefer a small bowl of granola and fruit rather than the likes of "Metamucil" close to bedtime.
My bad.

Many nights I will pour a bowl of cereal instead of grabbing another stack of cookies or some candy. I stay up late so usually eat later.

I had NO IDEA how much sugar was in cereal (even the "adult" cereals) until I made sugar (except for what exists naturally in a few foods) my Lenten sacrifice ! Folks, it is nearly impossible to eat ANYTHING in the super market that does not have sugar added to it, some things you would NEVER GUESS. I have never paid any attention to the "sugars" part of the nutritional labels on foods. I will look at the calories, and at the sodium content (that is sometimes mind boggling too !), but am fortunate not to have a weight problem so never really paid much attention to sugar. On the labels it delineates between natural occurring and sugar ADDED by the manufacturers. Everything has sugar added to it ! Not just soda, and snacks, it's added to everything ! This has not only been a spiritual experience for me, it's also been an education in just how much SUGAR I have been eating ! The up side, sure have been eating a LOT of prepared from scratch meals using only fresh ingredients .... ! No cans, boxes, did you know they even put SUGAR in some frozen vegetable ??? Maybe the USA should re-think our food processing ?

Your post made me look at the box of the only cereal I eat and that is Cheerios. I am shocked! Sugar is the third ingredient listed. I never thought Cheerios would have sugar in it.

I would love to eat dried fruits but the first on list of ingredients after type of fruit is SUGAR and lots of it!

A family member was dieting and I was surprised to hear how much sugar is in Watermelon.

In January, I reduced the Carbs that I ate (Bread,Rice,Pasta, etc.,). Lost 20 lbs. to date.

Sad that the food companies are doing such harm to us.

Kens dressing had a very good vidalia onion dressing that we had until one day looked at ingredients and first one was sugar.

Last time we have ever purchased it.

Sugar is not the only thing causing obesity. Oils... plant based oils in foods are causing it also.

Have a friend who has lost 40 lbs by cutting out manipulated plant based oils like sunflower, safflower, peanut and vegitable oils. He only uses pure olive or avacado oils now.

Does he spend a fortune now on foods that do not have manipulated oils in them (ie chips, cereal, even frozen vegitables...)? YES, very expensive but worth it if you can.

He spends much more time reading labels now but heck he lost 40 lbs.

Check your ingredients and read up on the poison being put in food as if its good stuff, called plant based oils.

Check your labels. You will be shocked by even the most basic foods that have plant based oils in them.

Are Vegetable and Seed Oils Bad for You? A Critical Look

There are two things here. First companies in this country are not worried about your health, they are only interested in profits. So, if you're worried about your health ignore anything these companies tell you. The second thing is everyone has to decided what is good for them. Do you enjoy what life has to offer or do you stick to a regimented diet just so you can live longer. It makes me smile when a hear about a ninety-year-old grandmother, who drinks, smokes and eats candy all day.

We all have different food tastes, and are mindful of health. Here is my favorite breakfast or bedtime meal: plain minute oatmeal with NO sugar, 1/2 sliced ripe banana, small handful of washed blueberries, and two big pinches of crushed walnuts/almond/pecans (which I crush manually once per month). Pour a cup of hot milk on it and stir.

Sounds like a lot of work, but it becomes an easy habit and your body will love you for it.

REAL Americans choose AMERICAN CORN syrup, and LOTS of it. So healthy!

There's lots of sugar in most everything that we eat. Carbs are broken down into sugar to be processed by the body. Too much sugar is not healthy, but we must remember that the two things that the brain requires to function properly are sugar and oxygen.
As an aside, my doctor told me long ago, that diets are fads, and if I truly want to lose weight just DON'T EAT ANYTHING THAT IS WHITE.

Four grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon.
Ketchup is one of the biggest culprits among condiments that are high in sugar. Just one tablespoon of Heinz Ketchup contains 4 grams of sugar, according to the brand's

I think that people are looking for an answer to their difficulty sleeping problems and the cereal companies picked up on this and saw a chance for more sales and PROFITS. They probably do NOT believe that cereal will REALLY help. The question of WHY they are having sleep problems needs to be asked.
.........The Pandemic likely has a LOT to do with the problem - it was a NEW problem in both SCOPE and DIFFICULTY to solve. It opened and exacerbated social level, ethnic, regional, religious, and other WOUNDS in US society. It made many suspect that government did NOT "have their backs".
........Working from home and society-wide homeschooling disrupted the normal US paradigm causing internal family disruptions and conflicts - and undid the normal 5-day/ week schedule that people were used to and relied on for using their socializing skills. I believe that the number of marriages in the US has DROPPED and the number of single women and single mothers has increased.
.........On a very sad note, with more at-home, boring non-in-school finding of true friends and socializing, SUICIDES among 75% of teen girls and 25% of teen boys has unfortunately INCREASED. And the software of sites like Facebook that serve as a magnet to HOLD people on their sites has been a LARGE reason for these SUICIDES.
.......All told, the idea of evening cereal SOLVING the GIANT sociological problems associated with sleep difficulty is LUDICROUS !
........Also, no one has mentioned the additional problem that many MEN mostly have, which is that of waking up often from sleep to use the bathroom........I know I do.
..........That might take a separate thread to do justice to?

While this IS NOT quite true, you could almost MAKE the statement that the purpose of the US food industry is to DECREASE US longevity to control the population.

Waking up and smelling the roses can be a NICE invigorating experience.

That is why I only eat gallon tubs of chocolate ice cream every evening.
None of that sugary vanilla stuff for me! :icon_wink:

Good job. Could increase your lifespan.

There are ALWAYS exceptional people that live to 100 yet have a not-so-healthy diet. The question to be asked, IS, COULD those same people HAVE lived to 120 or even 140 years?

With the exception of CAULIFLOWER.

Yes, I sure understand, I too was just shocked. Never would have happened if I had not made the decision for Lent...but at the time I was ONLY thinking of the
"sacrifice" of dessert, of donuts with my coffee at the doughnut shop, of an ice cream cone listening to the music on the square. But the sugar (noted ADDED sugar !), in things like barbecue sauce ? in "healthy snack" yogurt" ? Anyway, as I commented, this has been more than a spiritual experience !

Yep ! Not sure, but look close, I've even found it packaged with a "sauce"... and the "sauce" has added sugar ! Think we've all been addicted to salt and sugar ! ?

Makes you wonder ! What is true is the "mixed messages"; constant bombardment of the horrifying increase in diabetes in all age groups, the development of more ways to treat, insulin pumps, etc. and at the same time the sugar and salt in everything continues to increase.... dichotomy in there somewhere ? People do love salt and sugar, so why would food companies, restaurants, fast food establishments, who are in business to make a profit, not continue to add more and more of what people love ?

Exactly, I found the same thing while on this "spiritual" journey for Lent ! Looked at dried fruit too, sure enough SUGAR galore and...not in the natural form like in fresh fruit. Another shocker was my preferred salad dressing, 14% of recommended guidelines for SUGAR ! Peanut butter, some brands have extreme amounts of both sugar and salt. Another interesting observation, the "healthy" choice brands of peanut butter and MANY other "healthy choice" products, have two, and some have three times, the SALT added ! The other thing I've really noticed (since I started paying attention !) if many products have changed the "per serving" listing. This was so subtle also. I was used to seeing "per Tablespoon" on things like ketchup, barbecue sauce, salad dressing, etc. Now, since I have been paying more attention, I noticed some brands have changed the designation to "per teaspoon" and the abbreviation for both, as we know, can be missed if you only give a slight glance... interesting anecdotal "research" I've been up to...LOL !

I am sure that the LARGE amount of sugar and salt in peanut butter is to "HOOK" children on their products. What I would wonder IS do countries like Australia, New Zealand, and maybe Denmark PROTECT their citizens and children from excess salt and sugar in processed foods? And if the US is the world leader in unhealthy processed package foods?

Well, today I was at neighborhood Walmart. As I walked down the cereal isle I saw the Walmart brand version of Cheerios. Looking at the ingredient's label I did not see sugar listed. I didn't buy it, but I'm considering it.

Yeah most cereal is actually horrible for you. Sugar, corn syrup, high fructose - all inflammation-inducing garbage.

Being the "third ingredient" doesn't necessarily mean Cheerios is high in sugar, it only has 2 grams per serving. To put that in perspective, you would have to eat 20 bowls to equal just one can of coke.

The US is the number one and possibly the only country where food companies can lobby to payoff the Government. No other country would allow this. Sugar is the Number One Drug in America. You need to be your own health advocate. Suggest you read a book by Dr Ken Berry called “Lies my Doctor told me”. It is eye opening!

Thank you, I will check out that BOOK.

Now I feel better!!!!!

Sometimes I will get a small bowl of plain cheerios with unsweetened almond milk. Trying to watch my calories.

I watch mine, too. Each and every tasty one.

Slim