Read your labels!!!

I saw an article today in Men's Health, and wanted to pass it on. I have said a lot about eating breakfast - it IS your most important meal of the day. Be careful, however, about WHICH oatmeal, yogurt, juice, breads, cereals, etc. that you choose. While oatmeal sounds healthy, many are heavily sweetened and can have as many much as 28 grams of sugar!! Don't just look at labels such as "whole grain", "light", "all natural" or even "organic". They can still be too high in fat or sugar, and too low in fiber. Granola may sound healthy, but look at the labels - many are very high in calories, but very low in nutritional content. Yogurt can have HUGE amounts of sugar - even if it says lowfat (and probably is), it still gets most of its calories from sugar - look on the back, but take Yoplait Light for example - it has 27 grams of sugar - that's 128 calories - wasted calories!! Muffins, bagels - even if they're "whole grain" can have 60 grams of FAT (540 calories - unbelievable!!). Ideally, try to choose things that have 3 grams of fat or less, unless it is coming from nuts (which are naturally high in fat - but know what kind of fat you are eating!!), less than 5-8 grams of sugar, and over 5 grams of fiber. There are so many new foods on the shelves these days that meet all of the above, and are fantastic. Don't be afraid to try something new - add a little fresh fruit, dried fruit, cinnamon - even sugar free pancake syrup (Log Cabin is the best!!) to add flavor and sweetness. Breakfast is the most important meal and you want it to be energizing, not leaving you sluggish and sleepy. Read your labels and know what you're getting out of bed for! Melissa