The cute little shapes in cereals are made by mixing grains with water to create a sludgy paste. The paste is expelled through tiny holes at a high temperature and pressure to create the shapes. The high temperature depletes the nutritional value of the already watered down grains, and also increases the glycemic index. The sludgy shapes are then coated with a mixture of various types of oils and sugar to keep them crunchy.
Even though cereals add synthetic vitamins, such as folic acid, to the ingredients, the vitamins are usually useless to the human body because the high temperature of the expelling process strips most of the nutrients away. In fact, folic acid is a synthetic version of folate, which many people have difficulty metabolizing (Visentin, et al., 2014).
Many cereals contain BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), which is a synthetic antioxidant added to foods to preserve fats, color, odor, and flavor. BHT is a neurotoxin, and can cause behavior and attention problems in children. BHT has also been found to act as a xenoestrogen, which means it mimics the effects of estrogen in the body. Excess estrogen has been linked to childhood obesity, diabetes, and premature onset of puberty (Simmons, Schlezinger, & Corkey, 2014).
