Even ‘healthy’ breakfasts like granola don’t get off the UPF hook

They’re among the most commonly consumed UPFs in the country – and certainly not the kind of thing most of us could reproduce in our own kitchens.

Most are fortified with vitamins and minerals, but many are also so high in sugar — as much as 40 per cent — and low in fibre that their nutritional content is debatable.

SUGARY START TO THE DAY: HIGH-UPF CEREAL

Kellogg’s Krave Milk Chocolate Cereal, 410g, €5.60 from Tesco

UPF ingredients: Soy lecithin, carotenes, annatto, ascorbyl palmitate, alpha tocopherol

The worst cereals tend to be the most sugar-filled — and look even less like the grains they started life as. Kellogg’s Krave — a chocolate-based cereal made from wheat, oat and rice flours — contains additional colours, emulsifiers and antioxidants.

While the colours may have originated in nature, these are all industrially-created ingredients, with soy lecithin linked to gut inflammation in some studies.

Experts say a general rule of thumb is that the more UPF ingredients a product contains, the worse it may be for your health. No studies have yet tested whether ‘cocktails’ of UPF ingredients may be harmful.

As Dr Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People, points out: ‘The individual ingredients of UPF may each be harmful, but it is in combination that they do the most harm.’

The tastier — and more sugary — a cereal is, the more likely it is you’ll eat more than the recommended amount, experts point out.

A MORE BALANCED MORNING MEAL: LOW-UPF CEREAL

Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut, 500g, €5.30 from Tesco

UPF ingredients: Barley malt extract

Weetabix Cereal, 48 biscuits, €6.99

from Tesco

UPF ingredients:

Barley malt extract

Both Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut and Weetabix are topselling cereals. While they’re not packed full of unusual additives, it’s the addition of barley malt extract (a flavour-enhancer) which makes them UPF.

It sounds innocuous but it is a mark of ultra-processing which sweetens food without using sugar. It has more carbs than sugar and as such will also be absorbed by the body more quickly, causing blood sugar to spike and then drop.

This will leave you craving more sugary food afterwards.

Even virtuous muesli and granola don’t get off the hook lightly.

Alpen contains whey powder, while M&S Raisin, Almond & Honey Granola contains an antioxidant called tocopherol-rich extract, which makes it UPF.

And although sugar isn’t a UPF ingredient, it certainly isn’t healthy and many of these products are packed with it (ironically, in a bid to avoid using artificial ingredients on their labels).

Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Reading, says: ‘Some will be higher in sugar than others, so it’s worth checking the label.

The problem, apart from the additives in the cereal, is that we generally don’t stick to the recommended portion size, which is around 30g.’

ZERO HEROES: NON-UPF CEREAL

Nestle Shredded Wheat, 30 biscuits, €5.60 from Tesco

UPF ingredients: None

Ready Brek Original Porridge, 750g,

€4.39 from Tesco

UPF ingredients: None

They may not be the most popular options, but there is nothing UPF about either of these cereals — both are high in fibre and contain no sugar or added salt. It’s worth also checking the labels on some packets of granola.

Not all will contain additives, including some of the Jordans range and even some of Aldi’s own-brand versions.