I should almost be embarrassed by telling you this.  I'm 43 years old and my favorite cereal is still Count Chocula.  Could this be the reason I'm not married?  Maybe it's because I'm still "young at heart."

A lot of breakfast cereals get a bad rap for being loaded with sugar.  But, did you know, cereal could help kids stay lean and form healthy habits that ward off disease?

A study from  the Social and Health Research Center shows eating cereal can help children stay lean and keep them from developing chronic diseases like type II diabetes.

Beware:  Not all cereals are created equal.  Not all of them are healthy.  The researches found that some brands contain more sugar than a Twinkie.  I'm guessing my Count Chocula falls into that category.  Parents should look at the labels and get cereals that are lower in sugar and high in fiber.

Consumer Reports analyzed and rated 27 ready-to-eat cereals marketed to children.  The cereals with "very good" nutrition ratings based on their sugar, fiber and sodium are:

Cheerios - 1 gram of sugar, 2 grams of fiber and whole grain oats as the first ingredient.  Cheerios also contains 45% Daily Value for iron, making it a great food for toddlers.

General Mills
General Mills
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Kix - 3 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fiber and whole grain corn as the first ingredient.  This cereal also contains 45% of the Daily Value for iron.

General Mills
General Mills
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Life - 6 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber and whole grain oat flour as the first ingredient.

General Mills
General Mills
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Wheaties - 4 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fiber and whole grain wheat as the first ingredient.

General Mills
General Mills
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