Ultimately Weetabix is a great cereal to have for breakfast. It is low in salt and sugar — one biscuit contains one hundredth of a teaspoon of salt, which is 0.8% of the FSA's suggested daily salt intake, and less than a fifth of a teaspoon of sugar (0.9g). It can absolutely be eaten in a balanced and healthy diet.
We suggest having four Weet-Bix with two cups of milk. Then, add a piece of fruit and a few nuts for more fibre and a wider range of nutrients. Weet-Bix with milk or yoghurt, fruit and nuts can be a good start to the day, but there are plenty of other options too.
Weetabix is fortified with certain vitamins and minerals and if eaten to excess, then you could be taking in too much of these nutrients. We would recommend that an adult eats no more than four (4) Weetabix biscuits per day.
If you want to add sweetness to unsweetened wholegrain cereal, add whole fruit (fresh/frozen/canned in juice/dried) which adds natural sweetness plus fibre, vitamins and minerals rather than adding table sugar, other sugars such as brown or coconut, honey or syrups which adds sweetness but little else.
The cereals with the least amount of sugar were: Nestle Shredded Wheat, with 0.7g of sugar per 100g of cereal and no change in the amount of sugar since 2012; Quaker Oatso Simple Original, with 1g per 100g of cereal; and Weetabix, which has 4.4g of sugar per 100g of cereal.
Salt and sugar are added to cereals to aid cooking, texture and taste.
Weetabix is high in fibre, relatively low in sugar (for a cereal) and one of the more natural cereal choices available in supermarkets. If you have type 2 diabetes breakfast cereals made with wholegrains can help to manage blood glucose levels, they release glucose more slowly as they are low GI.
As you can see below, they both have similar amounts of protein, carbohydrate and dietary fibre. The only major difference is oats have more fat and slightly more calories. Additional point: - Be cautious of flavoured oats, they have slightly less protein and can have up 24 x the amount of sugar.
Another positive is that there are no artificial sweeteners or colours added. You've also got added vitamins and minerals such as Riboflavin and Thiamin. So in short, the original Weetabix is pretty healthy and is certainly a much healthier option compared to many of the cereals on the supermarket shelves.
Sanitarium Weet-bix
This great Aussie breakfast staple comes in at a healthy number 3; it's a great choice for breakfasts. Weet-bix do have some salt and sugar added for flavour, but it is minimal. They're also fortified with niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, folate and iron.
Weetabix shouldn't cause constipation because it contains fiber, which helps moves the bowels. Because Weetabix is made of whole wheat, it's one of the cereals that help you poop. If you're constipated, increase your intake of fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
It's an excellent source of healthy wholegrains, with one bowl of Weet-Bix providing 60% of your daily wholegrain needs (our daily wholegrain target is 48 grams!). Weet-Bix is high in dietary fibre, low in sugar and provides important vitamins and minerals to give you a great start to your day.
For a normal meal however, 1 Weetabix is never enough to get close to filling you up. Having only 1 Weetabix can also make it look quite lonely and pathetic in the bowl, and it doesn't have any friends to help it soak up the milk, often leading to a soggy 'bix, the saddest of 'bix.
Weetabix is high in fibre, and is fortified, like most cereals, with extra minerals such as calcium and iron. They also contain folic acid, which is key for healthy cell and tissue development.
Best weetabix alternative: Aldi Harvest Morn Wheat Bisks. Best golden syrup-flavoured porridge: Quaker Oats So Simple Golden Syrup Porridge. Best special k-style cereal: ASDA Special Flakes Cereal. Best fruit & nut muesli: Lizi's Super Muesli Glow.
Fairly similar, but porridge wins slightly if you want to reduce weight. As other poster indicated, it depends on what you put on the cereal that really matters. It's the sugar that makes the main difference so.
Nutritional Summary:
There are 238 calories in 1 serving of Weetabix inc milk and sugar.
At 157 calories per two biscuit serving, a bowl of Weetabix Banana Flavour is high in fibre and low in both salt and fat, making it a fantastic breakfast option for all ages.
Not only is adding table sugar to your cereal not a good idea because of the added calories, but it's just not necessary. A single teaspoon a day adds up over the course of a year to more than a pound and a half of added weight as fat (the assumption here is that it's stored as excess calories).
Buyer beware: Avoid cereals high in added sugar
Added sugars offer no nutritional benefit to you, and eating these empty calories in excess can lead to weight gain and, over time, even contribute to chronic health conditions, like diabetes and heart disease.
A serving size of healthy cereal shouldn't pass 10 grams of sugar, but the average box of cereal generally contains 19.8 grams of sugar for every 100 grams of cereal (one serving).