# Is Cereal no longer "part of a complete breakfast" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631 "2010-03-16T05:14:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/21 "2010-03-17T13:25:05Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > I mean, after a while, you get tired of listening to side effects, that in some cases, might be worse than the original reason to take a pill. Well, there’s one they should keep: wasn’t it Olean that cautioned > [@](#): > > …may cause sudden bowel movements… But when I hear that some pill may relieve headaches while causing liver failure I tend to disregard the product. ---
**Author:** ![ShadyJenkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@ShadyJenkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadyJenkins)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/22 "2011-08-18T14:10:38Z")
Cereal is considered, “part of a complete breakfast,” because it is high in carbohydrates and calcium which make you sleepy. That is why they say to also eat eggs etc for the protein (protein gives you energy). Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/23 "2011-08-18T17:19:50Z")
The thing with pharmaceutical ads is, they have two options. They can either give you a vague ad that doesn’t tell you anything (scene of a guy windsurfing on a field of wheat, “Ask your doctor if \ is right for you”), in which case they don’t have any obligations. Or, they can tell you what the medication is supposed to be good for, and also tell you the side effects and counterindications. If they give the benefits, then they _have_ to give the drawbacks, as required by law. We’ve seen something of a shift in the past few years of pharmaceutical companies mostly preferring the latter approach, and I’m grateful. Annoying though it can be, it’s better than the alternative. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/24 "2011-08-18T17:28:40Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > …I mean, after a while, you get tired of listening to side effects, that in some cases, might be worse than the original reason to take a pill. Are you kidding? That’s the most entertaining part of pill commercials. “May cause blindness, dry rot, and locusts. Do not take Dammitol if you live next to a barber.” ---
**Author:** ![skylyn12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/25 "2011-08-18T17:44:04Z")
Have the ‘sugary’ cereals changed in the last 15 years? We were never allowed to get them as kids because they were 'full of sugar and junk". But when I picked up a box for my 3 year old, they really didn’t seem all that bad. In fact, there was little separating them from ‘regular’ cereals. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/26 "2011-08-18T18:20:48Z")
> [@mrklutz](#): > > Are you kidding? That’s the most entertaining part of pill commercials. > > “May cause blindness, dry rot, and locusts. Do not take Dammitol if you live next to a barber.” My favorite one was a medication for overactive bladder, where one of the side effects was diarrhea. Talk about trading a paper cut for a shot to the head. (shot to the head… cuz this is a zombie thread… get it? AH FORGET YOU) ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/27 "2011-08-18T18:31:34Z")
I remember as a child of 80s and 90s, being shown that if you eat Frosted Flakes, it would unleash “the Tiger in me!©” and I would be really awesome at sports. To this day I seldom eat frosted flakes, _or_ play tennis, for that matter. Jez sayin’! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/28 "2011-08-18T18:36:48Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Way long ago, it was “fruit, cereal, milk, bread and butter” with no mention of eggs, meats, and the other breakfast fare. But we never had a baconless breakfast, whether cereal was there or not. Same with eggs. Fried, scrambled, poached, boiled, omelet, with brains even. Omelet with brains… Nah, too easy. ---
**Author:** ![Bri2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/48db29/32.png) [@Bri2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bri2k)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/29 "2011-08-18T18:53:18Z")
For me, cereal often _is_ a complete breakfast…if coffee & cigarettes don’t count. Bri2k ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/30 "2011-08-18T19:01:31Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Viagra: part of a complete breakfast! It’ll help get you up in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/31 "2011-08-18T19:45:40Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Omelet with brains… > > Nah, too easy. That’s a pre-zombie reference, for what it’s worth. Nostradamus was a pussy. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/32 "2011-08-18T19:46:45Z")
I find it hard to imagine a multi-course breakfast. We never had anything like that in my 1970’s family. We had cereal, waffles, or eggs & bacon. But only one of those on any given morning. I still eat a lot of cereal for breakfast. Waffles on the weekend. Eggs & bacon have become an occasional night time dinner for us. It’s something we can cook quickly after work and not make a big mess. Maybe three times a month we’ll do this when we’re too tired to eat out. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/33 "2011-08-18T22:48:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I find it hard to imagine a multi-course breakfast. We never had anything like that in my 1970’s family. We had cereal, waffles, or eggs & bacon. But only one of those on any given morning. > > I still eat a lot of cereal for breakfast. Waffles on the weekend. > > Eggs & bacon have become an occasional night time dinner for us. It’s something we can cook quickly after work and not make a big mess. Maybe three times a month we’ll do this when we’re too tired to eat out. I like omelets or fritattas for dinner. Fast to make, and a decent way to use up leftovers. We frequently will have a basic ham in the fridge for random lunches and dinners [beats the watery deli ham all hollow] and the bone for cooking with beans when the meat is all gone. Easy to grab a slice and dice it up to flavor the eggs, and leftover baked potatoes, chopped onion, celery and broccoli or whatever veggies we have as well. With what is lurking in the fridge, and the help of the hens in my yard, I can have a meal on the table in about 15 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/34 "2011-08-18T23:50:52Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > With what is lurking in the fridge, and the help of the hens in my yard, I can have a meal on the table in about 15 minutes. While having chickens prepare meals in 15 minutes sounds like a major time savings, you’ve got to factor in the years required to train them in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/35 "2011-08-19T00:06:28Z")
I like bacon as well as anyone, but I don’t like cooking it. So I cook a whole pound at a time (when I’m alone in the house so no one comes in to snitch “just one piece”) - lay it out on paper towels, put into baggies, and freeze it. Saves a crapload of time and effort when bacon and eggs are called for in the evening. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/36 "2011-08-19T02:50:16Z")
> [@Bri2k](#): > > For me, cereal often _is_ a complete breakfast…if coffee & cigarettes don’t count. I remember Ian Sholes doing the school lunch menu: “Tuesday lunch for the Hilldale School District is a heel of bread, a banana, a slice of cheese, a slice of bacon, a cigarette. And a half pint of milk.” ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631/37 "2011-08-19T03:27:55Z")
> [@skylyn12](#): > > Have the ‘sugary’ cereals changed in the last 15 years? (…) when I picked up a box for my 3 year old, they really didn’t seem all that bad. In fact, there was little separating them from ‘regular’ cereals. Here’s a [sugar content](http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/cereal-sugar-list/) list. The high sugar cereals are over 40% sugar by weight. Captain Crunch. Lucky Charms. Apple Jacks. Cocoa Puffs. I generally like prefer moderately sweet cereals that are 10-20% sugar. Life. Kix. Total. Cheerios, corn flakes, Grape Nuts and unfrosted Shredded Wheat are all under 10% sugar. So, a powdered cup of Captain Crunch is 3.5 ounces of sugar and 4.5 of corn, whereas corn flakes are 0.6 oz. of sugar and 7.4 oz. of corn. Is one better than the other? Well, cereals are rarely a decent source of protein and replacing 44% of the corn with protein-free sugar doesn’t help things. I believe that high-sugar foods are more likely to cause cavities than low sugar foods. Another consideration: In my experience fewer people finish the milk in a bowl of very sweet cereal than in a bowl of moderately sweet cereal. That cuts down the most important protein component of a cereal breakfast. Even as a kid, a bowl of super sweetened milk was not appealing. YMMV. However, kids have always eaten high-sugar foods whenever possible, and few of them die of malnutrition in first-world countries. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cereal-no-longer-part-of-a-complete-breakfast/532631.md?page=1)