Raise Basal Body Temperature Naturally with Diet: Progesterone and Candida Connection

I suffer with cold hands and feet, brittle hair, constipation, dry eyes and mouth and fatigue. Tests for hyperthyroidism always came back negative. However, I have learned that these symptoms point to low body temperature.

A chilly Body temperature is common in women and gets in the way of losing weight, getting pregnant, looking good and simply having the energy to do the things in everyday life.

How to Find your Basal Body Temperature

How the Basal Body Temperature Fluctuates Throughout the Month

The woman’s body temperature fluctuates slightly over the month (see image) but the basal body temperature should never fall below 35.5 degrees centigrade. Your basal body temperature is determined by taking a reading first thing in the morning before rising (around 6-7 am). This will give the lowest body temperature over a 24 hour period. I use a digital thermometer from Boots, the sort that is placed beneath the tongue. The average body temperature for humans is 37 degrees centigrade.

Metabolism Increase and Decrease

It should be noted here that in healthy women, a slight dip in basal body temperature will occur around ovulation (roughly day 14 or 15 of the menstrual cycle) and it will also fall around the time of menstruation.

You see, the body temperature will rise along with levels of progesterone. Progesterone is the heat-giving hormone that is dominant after ovulation (and during pregnancy). Progesterone will gradually keep on increasing during the second half of the female cycle until blood flow.

Progesterone and Pregnancy

Interestingly, I had noticed that my symptoms would ease after ovulation. They disappeared altogether when I was pregnant. My eyes were never dry, my hair was thick and sleek and I had a lot of energy. You might have guessed that progesterone increases throughout pregnancy and keeps the body toasty warm. You could say that my symptoms were kept at bay through a progesterone-dominant nine months.

Soon after pregnancy, the symptoms returned and stuck around for many years. My hair thinned and became brittle, my eyes got dry and I got tired. Why was this happening?

Estrogen Dominance

This brings me to the issue of estrogen dominance, a sneaky curse that afflicts many women suffering from seemingly unrelated health gripes. Estrogen is needed in the body for fertility and also for sperm health. It is the dominant hormone between menstruation and ovulation when progesterone is low.

However, an unhealthy diet, stress and chemicals promote the production of more estrogen in the body. This causes estrogen levels to get too high.

Increase your Body Temperature with Progesterone

When the body is stressed, cortisol is produced at the cost of progesterone. Progesterone levels fall lower than it should, bringing low basal body temperature. All of this is due to adrenal fatigue. The basal body temperature is the best indicator of how functional your hormones are.

A diet high in sugar and carbs also promotes the overgrowth of candida albicans, a yeast that lives in the gut. In advanced stages, candida can cause leaky gut syndrome, where the gut lining gets so inflamed, foreign particles from food leak into the blood stream, causing autoimmune disorders. This causes further fatigue during toxic overload that has to be dealt with by liver, kidneys and pancreas.

Estrogen dominance has been found to have a link with candida overgrowth. Infact one of the by products of candida is estrogen. Low basal body temperature would indicate an overgrowth of candida albicans.

As I am sitting here writing this, I know without checking that my body temperature is not what it should be. My hands and feet are cold despite sitting in a room of around 20 degrees. My aim is to get my extremities feeling toasty like they used to when young.

I have been on the candida diet for around forty-five days now, and although my health has shown some improvement, my eyes remain dry in the evenings, I suffer mild constipation and my hair would look dry without the application of a little coconut oil to keep it looking sleek.

In a bid to raise my body temperature, I have started taking kelp supplements with coconut oil (both found to help raise body temperature). I also am including sea vegetables, which contain iodine and complex minerals, needed to support the thyroid. Wild yam cream contains progesterone, thought to top up progesterone levels in body via the skin.

Should you Cut Carbs from your Diet?

And would you believe, another way to raise body temperature is to ingest more carbs – the very thing that the candida diet gurus advise you not to do. Well after cutting a lot of my carbs from my diet, and finding my hands and feet remain cold, have decided to include healthy sources of complex carbohydrates in my diet: porridge, rye bread and wholegrain rice.

The body needs energy to burn fuel. But not from white, refined flour, sugary cereals or carby snacks. My journey into finding health has become somewhat a winding road. It has begun with cutting carbs, taking antifungals and probiotics. Now the road has twisted to ways of increasing my body temperature. Introducing carbs back into my diet and taking iodine supplements.

References:

X Zhang, et al. Estrogen effects on Candida albicans: a Potential Virulence-Regulating Mechanism. (2000)

S White, et al. Candida Albicans Morphogenesis is Influenced by Estrogen. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. (1997)

Article about Candida, Estrogen Dominance and Health

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12 ways I use coconut oil for health
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Cereals that make you fat
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Estrogen Dominance Cure: How Candida Causes Female Hormonal Imbalance in the Body

Estrogen dominance is little known yet is a widespread curse and the cause of seemingly unrelated health problems. Consider resistance to weight loss, problematic PMS, cancer, heart disease, fibroids, hairloss, premature wrinkles, fatigue and lower than average basal body temperature.

A little estrogen is needed in the body for proper female reproduction and the creation of bone mass. In males, a little estrogen is needed for sperm health.

But today’s lifestyle promotes too much estrogen in the body. Too much estrogen is simply bad for you.

Too much Estrogen in the First Half of the Menstrual Cycle

The culprits of Estrogen Dominance.

1 Poor diet causing poor estrogen metabolization. A diet high in grains creates estrogen. Inorganic meats that have received hormone and antibiotic injections can also be carried through the food chain.

2 Being fat. Fat tissue produces an enzyme called aramotase that creates estrogen from testosterone.

3 Deficiency in essential minerals, including zinc, selenium, magnesium and vitamin D and C.

4 Too much alcohol.

5 Taking contraceptives.

6 Exposure to chemicals in household products such as plastics, food tins and beauty products. Look out for parabens, phthalates and BPA. These contain xenoestrogens that will elevate the estrogen levels in the body.

7 Long term stress levels, causing high levels of cortisol – a fight-or-flight hormone similar to adrenaline. Progesterone is needed to produce cortisol. With an overproduction of cortisol, progesterone levels fall, contributing further to estrogen dominance.

Diet and Estrogen

Cold Extremeties

But one of the biggest contributors to estrogen dominance is poor diet. Too much sugar, grains and junk food promotes an overgrowth of candida albicans, a yeast that lives within the intestines. The problem arises when the yeast overwhelms the digestive tract, causing inflammation of the gut lining and eventually, leaky gut syndrome. Allergies and an exhausted immune system are the result.

Furthermore, insufficient fibre in the diet does not permit the conveyance of toxins and excess estrogen from the body. This causes a build up of estrogen.

The terrible thing about candida is that it is insidious. It loves sugar and it impedes nutrient absorption, causing fatigue, cravings, mood swings, thrush, eczema and hairloss. I have experienced these symptoms for myself.

Sadly, the treatment is often for the isolated symptoms rather than the underlying cause. Examples are antidepressants for depression, HRT for hormone imbalances and antibiotics for thrush.

Candida can wreak havoc upon the endocrine system, producing its own false type of estrogen. Too much estrogen in the body in fact promotes more yeast overgrowth, weight gain and a vicious cycle.

In short, healthy adrenals, thyroid and colon are key to rebalancing the hormones in the body.

My Own Experience of Estrogen Dominance

I have noticed that the first half of the menstrual cycle leading up to ovulation is accompanied by a cluster of symptoms which I have always suspected have been connected. In three words too estrogen dominant.

In my own experience, the symptoms are as follows: cold hands and feet, dry eyes and mouth (especially at night), itchy skin, hair loss, fatigue, puffy eyes, water retention, constipation and a yellowish pallor to the skin. Migraines and depression may come prior to or after menstruation. From my research, low blood pressure and temperature dips are indicative of estrogen dominance. Progesterone is the ‘heat producing’ hormone.

Having cold hands and feet as well as low blood pressure might indicate that I do not have enough progesterone.

However, when the progesterone cycle kicks in during the second half of the menstrual cycle (after ovulation), these symptoms ease off. But not for long enough, for soon the cycle starts all over again.

The answer seems to be to rebalance the estrogen levels in the body and to promote progesterone.

From my research vitamin C, Zinc, Vitamin B6 and magnesium will promote progesterone production naturally. Wild yam cream, containing progesterone is thought to be absorbed through the skin.

Healthy adrenal glands are also a must. Exhausted adrenals will often point to an overproduction of cortisol which in turns leads to low progesterone. Another cure for estrogen dominance is to de-stress.

Easier said than done but will keep in mind the underproduction of progesterone during the menstrual cycle and amend my diet accordingly.

More Articles on Health

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My horrific hair loss story

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Candida Diary Day Forty: How Yeast causes Estrogen Dominance and Wrinkles

Since beginning my trial to see if the candida diet works, I have gone through two menstrual periods. Both were straightforward: abdominal cramping followed by blood loss. There has been no migraines no fatigue and my PMS feels reduced.

However, the period before I began my diet was excruciatingly painful. I had terrible depression, vice-like migraine and nausea. I looked yellow and generally ill. But this was nothing new to me. In fact, for most of my adult life, I have been plagued with horrible periods that stopped me from living life to the full.

Yeast Overgrowth and the Menstrual Cycle

Since beginning my low carbohydrate anti-candida diet, I have noticed my candida symptoms flare up before and around a period. Prior to my previous period, the white coating on my tongue increased a little. Once the period was over, my eyes became dry and my skin became itchy. However, the oral thrush cleared. It seems that a woman goes through a ‘cleansing’ cycle every month, where spots, bloating, fatigue, migraine and feeling generally lousy would indicate the body is going through a cleansing crisis. Such a cleansing crisis is known as Herxheimer reaction. This describes the body overwhelmed by pathogens during the healing process.

Candida and Menstruation

Could it be that the Herxheimer reaction has been happening every month? It would seem to explain why sometimes I could get away with gorging on chocolates and overdoing the wine without any symptoms. Yet on another occasion, my body would rebel against this indulgence with a vengeance.

Herxheimer Reaction and Menstruation

Estrogen Dominance in the Menstrual Cycle

I wondered if the symptoms of troublesome menstruation could be an indicator of the yeast overgrowth in the gut due to bad diet and stress over the previous month. Could it be that during the month, the candida gradually builds up without causing any symptoms until the cleansing stage arrives. The liver is key to getting rid of excess estrogen (not to mention candida-related toxins). Going through the Herxheimer crisis is hardly ideal for a fulfilling life!

Could it be that the liver become gradually overwhelmed over the month, rather like a bank balance due for payout? A month of unhealthy eating, stress (and taking the birth control pill) could lead to a liver overwhelmed with candida die off. Hence the cleansing crisis: migraines, bloating, fatigue, PMS and feeling like death.

What is Estrogen Dominance?

The terrible thing is that a bad diet, lifestyle and drugs (antidepressants, antibiotics and birth control pills) causes the candida to dominate the gut. In turn, it promotes estrogen dominance. One supports the other. It is a vicious cycle.

But what is estrogen dominance?

Throughout the menstrual cycle, the woman’s body temperature fluctuates slightly. During ovulation, it dips. During the second stage of the cycle, the body becomes progesterone dominant as the lining of the womb thickens, ready for a possible pregnancy. This is accompanied by a slight rise in body temperature until menstruation. Once menstruation begins, both the progesterone and the body temperature drops abruptly. I can sense this drop in body temperature when having cold hands and feet, dry eyes, skin, constipation and depression. This shift in body temperature must also cause an interruption in the gut.

The first half of the menstrual cycle commences with a gradual rise in estrogen until ovulation occurs again. Progesterone then dominates.

But when candida overgrowth is added to the equation, the body becomes estrogen dominant. There is a higher level of estrogen in the body than there should be.

Research has shown that too much estrogen can cause ovarian cysts, bloating, hair loss, premature wrinkles, weight gain, migraines, infertility and cancer. Worse, estrogen supports the growth of candida. And candida likes estrogen.

It becomes a vicious cycle.

On day forty of my experiment, I have noticed that my periods have become more ‘straightforward.’ I haven’t had any migraines, but bloating, dry eyes and itching is still a problem. Before a period, the coating on my tongue would increase slightly, and then disappear once menstruation is done.

I am hoping as I continue with the diet, that each period will become less troublesome, the oral thrush will continue to decrease as each month passes. Perhaps these will be indicators of a body becoming less estrogen dominant.

More Articles on Candida Overgrowth

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Go forward to day 50 of my candida diet
Go back to day 30 of my candida diet

How I use coconut oil to improve health

My horrible hair loss story

My experiment with oregano oil
How candida affects estrogen dominance

My Candida Diary Experiment Day Thirty: I can Taste My Food Again

There is a lot on the Net about candida and how you can get rid of this beastly yeast overgrowth in the gut. Apparently, candida albicans is caused by a high sugar diet, stress and junk food. According to anecdotal claims, candida can be controlled by a low carbohydrate diet, antifungals and a course of probiotics.

Through my life, I have vague, and sometime debilitating symptoms that affected my life: fatigue, bloating, hair loss, dry eyes, itchy skin, depression and more. Read about this on my post on why I began the candida diet.

A Healthier Diet

Plenty of Veg on Candida Diet

During my journey, I have discovered that coconut oil, garlic and oregano oil can be used as antifungals and have incorporated them into my diet. I have also cut all grains except for porridge and quinoa. All sweets, biscuits, bread and junk food have literally gone out of the window. Instead, I have introduced green smoothies, vegetables and more protein into my diet.

To date, I have stuck to the anti candida diet for 30 days.

Results of the Candida Diet

I am still yet to be convinced that this diet will get rid of the yeast, although there have been some changes in my health. For starters, I can taste my food better than I could before. Losing your sense of taste can come on subtly and gradually. This happened to me last year when I noticed I could not taste my food like I used to.

Oral thrush is a symptom of candida overgrowth, where a white coating can be seen on the tongue. This coating has cleared overall but seems to recur now and then, on certain days. On day 30, the tongue appears quite clear – or definitely better than on day 1. At the moment, I am on day 15 of taking oregano oil, which is supposed to be an effective antifungal against candida.

I am told that oregano oil kills the good bacteria as well as the bad. However, other sources recommend I continue with the probiotics. I take my probiotics in the evenings, and the oregano oil in the morning. This keeps the 2 apart.

Can Candida Affect Your Sense of Taste and Smell?

Oral Thrush Clearing

Another thing I have noticed is that I am not sneezing as much as I used to. In the last few years, a fit of sneezing would come on regardless of time of year or location. I don’t have pets and there are no smokers in the household. To my knowledge, I am not allergic to pollen nor am I asthmatic. The sneezing would come on without warning and for no apparent reason.  However, it seems to get worse in the evenings.

Accompanied with the sneezing would be runny eyes and snuffly nose. It would feel as though I have a cold, but I don’t have a cold. Only my sinuses are involved. At one point, the problem made my life a misery. I thought I was perhaps allergic to house dust. But no amount of cleaning, dusting or hovering made a difference. I also tried buying houseplants, thinking they would help ionise the air. I also have an ioniser. None of these measures really worked.

Candida and the Time of the Month

Although the problem causes my eyes to run, they are often dry and uncomfortable, especially at night. They would look red or appear puffy in the mornings.

On day 30, m eyes are not so dry at the moment, but the dryness often eases at second half of the menstrual cycle. It is thought that a rise in progesterone affects energy levels, mood and food cravings. In my experience, my eyes always get dry after menstruating, which is very frustrating. Time will tell if the dryness returns later in the week.

In all, my health has shown some improvements, but other remains the same. One problem is my itchy skin especially around the ears, back and privates. It always worsens at night. The patches of hair loss that occurred last March have yet to grow back despite taking biotin supplements in ‘Hair Skin and Nails’. In all, I remain sceptical.

More Articles on Candida Albicans

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The Truth about Breakfast Cereals: Grains that give you Diabetes, Weight Gain and Tooth Decay

The most important meal of the day is likely to be packed full of simple carbohydrates, salt, little fibre and artificially restored nutrients to a stripped grain. The typical breakfast cereal of corn, wheat, honey, dried fruit, added sugar and salt provides the ideal foundation for weight gain, sugar diabetes, Candida albicans, sweet cravings, tooth decay and many other degenerative diseases. In short, the typical boxed cereal that you will find in the British supermarket is bad for you.

Read about my shocking findings on breakfast cereals after garnering information from the back of cereal boxes in my local Asda Superstore. Their slogan ‘Chosen by You’ would seem to be an absolution of any responsibility on their part. These unhealthy boxed cereals were certainly not chosen by me. However, the majority of these bright coloured boxes emblazoned with Disney characters and superheroes would appear to be aimed at kids too young to understand the contents can cause tooth decay and weight gain.

I have taken the carbohydrate percentage of each cereal and then deducted the fiber figure (fiber is also a carbohydrate, but cannot be digested by the body). The figure left is digestible carbohydrate, the sort that will be converted into glucose by the body.

High Sugar Content in Breakfast Cereals

Don’t be fooled by the labels ‘no fat, no added sugar’ or ‘fortified with vitamins and minerals.’ Such health claims becomes meaningless when looking at the back of the box to establish the amount of carbohydrate packed inside.

The carbohydrate level of your average boxed cereal per 100g will give you an idea of how much glucose your body is being fed by the contents within. You see, glucose is the end result of energy, whether it comes from sugar, honey, dried fruit or the grain itself. And it is likely to be of the simple sort, the sort that is easily and quickly converted into glucose.

To your body, such carbs might as well be sugar.

Net Carbohydrate of Cereals

The amount of glucose your body is being provided by the cereal is likely to be between 70 and 85 percent. Imagine, 70 to 85 percent of the cereal comprising of sugar. The source of carbohydrate might be from the grain, fruit, honey or nougat. To your body, it will make no difference. It will be converted into glucose in your blood. Just the same as though it were sugar.

How Sugar Makes you Fat

No fat in the cereal? Well, the surplus glucose in your body will be converted into fat anyway. In short, sugar will make you fat, even if there is no fat in the cereal whatsoever.

Even the supposed ‘healthy’ cereals of wheatabix, allbran and Special K have sugar. The combination of sugar, the harsh and glutinous kernels of wheat and milk protein over years have been found to contribute to IBS as well as food allergies and candida albicans, an overgrowth of yeast in the gut.

Rice crispies, Frosties and cornflakes contain no or little fibre and therefore comprise of simple carbohydrates, the ideal recipe for a harsh blood sugar spike mid morning followed by a slump in energy levels followed by sugar cravings.

The Most Unhealthy Breakfast Cereal

It seems a crime to add even more unhealthy ingredients to the already denatured cereal grain. Chocolate, nougat, corn syrup, sugared dried fruit, grape nuts, roasted oats, roasted nuts and caramel. The brightly-coloured boxes festooned with loud cartoon characters, Disney endorsements and action heroes aimed at young, impressionable children would seem a marketing ploy of the lowest order.

Worse, the marketers sell the image of sunshine, energy and feeling good with the emblazonment, ‘fortified with vitamins, iron and calcium.’ Sadly, these nutrients have been artificially added after being stripped away in the first place. This is no comparison to the nutrients originally found in the grain.

The Rise of the Breakfast Cereal

A hundred years ago, the staple British breakfast comprised of simple grains in the form of porridge or homemade rye bread. Now the grain has been processed, stripped, moulded, flavoured, sugared and repackaged.

Shockingly, Special K is one of the worst offenders in my research, having around 75% net carbs within. Puffed wheat, rice crispies, shreddies, cornflakes, Frosties, Granola, Cheerios, Golden Grahams and cereal bars are packed with carbohydrates and added sugar. None of them will contribute to a healthy heart or a giver of energy. In fact, the opposite is true.

High Sugar Content in Breakfast Cereals

Consider tooth decay, weight gain, diabetes and associated degenerative diseases. No added sugar? The net carbohydrate percentage tells the true story of how bad these cereals really are for you. Few foods contain such a high level of carbohydrate as the British boxed cereal.

The best of the bunch remains the good old porridge oat or pure untampered wheat grain. Not the instant type, but the whole grain that is cooked in a saucepan with a little milk. Alternatives can be found in Quinoa, Buckwheat, whole grain or rye bread or a high protein breakfast.

Net carbohydrate of breakfast cereals

Does the candida diet work? My candida diary

British Breakfast Cereals will Make You Fat: Net Carbohydrate of Cereals

Fat is not as effective as making you fat as too much carbohydrate. Carbs is really another name for calories. To the body, carbohydrate and sugar are the same: energy. Once broken down, the energy in food is turned to glucose. Excess glucose in your blood will be stored around the organs as fat. This is why a person on a fat-free diet can become fat. Small wonder there is a fat epidemic in this country when the supermarkets stock high carbohydrate breakfast cereals masquerading as healthy food.

Don’t be fooled by the claim that a breakfast cereal has no or low sugar. It can still make you fat if it is high in carbohydrate and low in fibre. A diet high in carbs can cause a host of problems: candida albicans, sugar diabetes, obesity, tooth decay and degenerative diseases associated with being overweight.

Healthy Forms of Sugar?

Net Carbohydrate of Breakfast Cereals

Carbs comes in different forms from simple to complex. Simple carbs include dextrose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, fructose, galactose and monosaccharides. These are rapidly absorbed in the blood stream, causing a blood sugar spike. Starches, another form of carbohydrate, are found in certain fruits and vegetables. Some starches cause a rapid blood sugar spike, just like simple carbs. Other are absorbed more slowly, but still provide energy.

Wheatabix is Lower Carb than Alpen

Fibre is a form of carbohydrate that is not digested, but passes through the body and is fermented in the large gut.

In order to determine how much energy a breakfast cereal actually contains, I worked out the net carbohydrate of each. The net carb is what I consider to be how good a cereal is at making you fat. The higher the figure, the more glucose the cereal is providing you.

What is Net Carbohydrate?

Wheatgerm is very Low in Carbs

The net carbohydrate is calculated by subtracting the amount of fibre, (which is not digested by the body anyway) from the overall carbohydrate figure. To provide consistency, I used percentages, so that the net carb can easily be appreciated regardless of serving size. So 50% net carbohydrate can be visualized in a bowl of cereal as a half. Imagine, half of your cereal being broken down into glucose (or blood sugar). I have used sugar cubes to the images to add visual appreciation.

I went out with pen and pad and looked at the back of cereal packets in my local Asda.

I noted down the key figures which are C which stands for overall carbohydrate (of which S stands for sugars). I then subtracted the fibre (or F) from the overall carb. I was then left with the net carbs of a breakfast cereal. In other words, the energy it provides. (Note, I have had to round up or down some decimals figures to the nearest whole).

I have listed the breakfast cereals from the lowest to the highest net carbohydrate.

Breakfast Cereals Having Net Carbohydrate of Between 20 and 50 Percent

Porridge is Low in Carb

Neal’s Yard Wholefoods Milled Flax & Oatbran C=41 (of which S=1.4) subtract F18 = Net Carbohydrate 23

Oatbran C=47(of which S=1) subtract F18 = Net Carbohydrate: 29

Wheatgerm C=50 (of which S=8) subtract F15 = Net Carbohydrate 35

Super 3 Seed Granola C=54 (of which S=19) subtract F8 =Net Carbohydrate 46

Mornflake Jumbo Oats C=56 (of which S=1) subtract F9 = Net Carbohydrate 47

Kellogs Ancient Legends Muesli with Pumpkin, Sultana & Flaxseeds C57 (of which S=16) subtract F9 = Net Carbohydrate 48

Super Nutty Granola C=56 (of which S=16) subtract F7 = Net Carbohydrate 49

You get the figures? Now I have abbreviated them further in the following:

Medium Carbohydrate Breakfast Cereals Between 51 and 60 Percent Net Carbs

Alpen has Lots of Fruit Sugars

Wholegrain Quaker Oats C60 (S1) - F9 = 51

Jordan’s Fruit and Nut Muesli C61 (S24) - F9.4 = 51

Harvest Morn Wheat Shreds C65 (S0.6) - F13 = 52

Nestle Low Sugar Oat Cheerios C67 (S4.7) - F8.5 = 58

Harvest Morn Wheat Shreds C65 (S0.6) - F13 = 56

Quinoa C62 (S0) - F5 = 57

Simply Granola C65 (S18) - F7.2 = 58

Morrison Puffed Wheat C67 (S1.6) - F9.3 = 58

Wheatabix C69 (S4.4) - F10 = 59

Crunchy Oat Granola Tropical Fruits Harvest morn C66 (S20) - F7.4 = 59

Alpen Original C67 (S22) - F7 = 60

Breakfast Cereals Comprising Net Carbs of Between 61 and 70 Percent

Shreddies: High in Sugar & Fibre

Shreddies C72 (S15) - F11 = 61

Super Berry Granola C68 (S17) – F7.7 = 61

Kellogs Ancient Legends Sultana, Apple & Chia Seeds C70 (S23) - F8.6 = 62

Harvest Morn Malted Wheaties C72 (S13) - F7 = 65

Asda Malted Shreddies C73 (S14) - F8.5 = 65

Nestle (ordinary) Cheerios 4 Grain C73 (S20) - F7 = 66

Nestle Nesquick Chocolate C74 (S25) - F8.7 = 66

Frosted Shreddies C76 (S28) - F8.9 = 67

Nestle Honey Cheerios C75 (S24) - F7 = 68

Wheatabix Weetos Choc Hoops C75 (S24) -F6.2 = 69

Asda Multigrain Wheaties C76 (S19) - F6.5 = 70

Breakfast Cereals Having High Net Carbs of 71 Percent and Above These Could Make you Fat

Cornflakes are High in Sugars

Harvest Morn Benefit Original (Their version of Special K) C76 (S12) - F4 = 72

Special K Oats & Honey C77 (S18) - F5 = 72

Asda Jungle Bites C78 (S29) - F5.4 = 73

Special K Fruit & Nut C78 (S27) - F4.4 = 74

Special K Red Berries C79 (S17) - F5.3 = 74

Plain Special K C79 (S15) - F4.5 = 75

Nestle Golden Nuggets C81 (S25) - F4.6 = 77

Kellogs Cornflakes C84 (S8) - F3 = 81

Asda Coco Snaps C84 (S33) -F2.3 = 82

Kellogs Cocopops C85 (S35) - F2 = 83

Asda Golden Balls C88 (S25) - F3.4 = 85

Rice Snaps (like Rice Crispies) C87 (S10) - F1 = 86

Asda Frosted Flakes C88 (S30) - F2.3 = 86

Special K is Not Healthy

Special K is Not Healthy

Some interesting results here. Firstly, it would seem that Special K, having pictures of slim women on the box, is not a slimming breakfast cereal, but one with 75% net carbs (and low in fibre). When broken down in the body, it’s like eating cereal of which three-quarters are sugar.

Alpen is also not as healthy as it purports to be, loaded with dry fruits, making it high in carbs and sugar. Wheatabix would be better for helping you lose weight.

Asda Chosen by You

Frosted Flakes Could Make you Fat

Shame on Asda Frosted Flakes, Rice Snaps, Cocopops and Golden Nougats that are marketed for children, emblazoned with Disney characters and action heroes! Kids eating these cereals are likely to get tooth decay, sugar cravings and weight gain in later years. Asda’s token tagline is: Chosen by You.

It is little surprise that on the whole, good old porridge is best. But the average cereal can be made healthier and lower in carbs by replacing some of it with wheatgerm or introducing a little oatbran. Reducing the dried fruits would be better.

I haven’t begun on cereal bars, but they are loaded with simple carbohydrates. Here’s one example: Special K Chock & Raspberry Cereal Bar C75 (S36) - F4 = 71

More on these on another post.

How high carbohydrate cereals make you fat
What is candida albicans?
Core ingredients for my healthy green smoothie recipes
12 things you can use coconut oil for health