Is Wheaties FUEL the New Breakfast for Champions?

By , SparkPeople Blogger
The familiar orange box and 'breakfast of champions' slogan has been an American icon for generations. For many athletes, being featured on the box is a goal and dream come true when it happens. In 1921, Wheaties was discovered by accident and because of wise marketing decisions, an association with sports started a decade later. Since that time, Wheaties has been associated with many accomplished athletes such as Mary Lou Retton and Michael Jordan as well as other well-known icons such as Ronald Regan, The Lone Ranger, and Mickey Mouse. The tie with sports and fitness has helped Wheaties remained 'The Breakfast of Champions'.

Now there is a new cereal, 'By Champions, For Champions'. Will Wheaties FUEL with its distinctive black box accomplish the same iconic status? Is it something you should consider including in your healthy diet?

Performance Nutrition Expert, Dr. John Ivy worked with five of the world's leading athletes to create a cereal that in their opinion has the best balance of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals to boost athletic energy, endurance and performance. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you decide if this new cereal is necessary or worth inclusion in your healthy lifestyle.

Male focus - With professional athletes such as Quarterback Peyton Manning and all around baseball great Albert Pujols helping create and market this new cereal, marketing focus indicates this could be a cereal by men, for men.

Focus on whole grains - This is not new and is an ongoing focus with the regular formulation of Wheaties as well. Wheaties FUEL uses whole grain wheat just like the regular formation but also includes rice flour, whole grain oats, and corn bran as well. It is important to note that a larger serving size provides more grains from FUEL but in equal serving sizes, it does provide 10 grams more total carbohydrate however some of that is from additional sugar.

Excellent source of fiber - There is more fiber in the new FUEL formulation compared to an equal serving size of the regular formulation but not significantly with the new formulation providing 3.75 grams in a three-fourths cup serving compared to only 3 grams in the regular formulation.

Focus on five specific B-vitamins - Many products are fortified with B vitamins, cereals being some of the most common. Because you don't always see the 'B' designation, you might not realize that common cereal fortifiers include B vitamins such as thiamin (B-1), riboflavin (B-2), niacin (B-3), and folic acid (B-9). Wheaties FUEL is fortified with thiamin, riboflavin, Niacin, vitamin B-6 and B-12 just like the regular formulation of Wheaties but just at a slightly higher level. Since FUEL is intended for men, it does not have the folic acid fortification of the standard cereal.

The Bottom Line

The Breakfast of Champions has just taken it up a notch with the introduction of the new Wheaties FUEL. The marketing intent and focus appears to be male in nature. The cereal itself seems to be a combination of Wheaties and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. This is where the cautions come in to play. FUEL contains about 10 grams more sugar per serving than regular Wheaties and 4 grams more per serving than Cinnamon Toast Crunch according to Mr Breakfast.com. While it does provide fiber, it isn't at a level of significance from regular Wheaties when you look at it on a per serving basis. In a one cup serving of FUEL, you get 100% of five B-vitamins, however, woman of reproductive age should take note that folic acid is not one of them.

Taste reviews have been very positive so if you think Wheaties are ok but lack flavor, Wheaties FUEL may just provide what you are looking for. However, if you are fine with the regular old 'breakfast of champions', unless you find FUEL on sale, you might want to stick with the gold standard. Because of the larger serving size of FUEL (1 cup serving) compared to regular Wheaties (3/4 cup serving), you get half as many servings from FUEL as you would from the same size box of regular Wheaties. With a typical box selling for about $4, that may influence your choice as well.

Had you seen any of the ads for FUEL or heard about the new Wheaties cereal? What do you think about this new direction for the breakfast of champions?