The lowest fat cereal you can buy in the UK (top 5)
Regular readers of You Well will know that I'm pretty obsessed with cereal - I'm the type of guy who will happily eat cereal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I'm also a staunch defender of cereal as a healthy meal choice, and have made it my mission to highlight healthy cereals you can buy. This includes cereal high in fibre, protein, vitamins, and minerals like iron and calcium.
Fat is quite a contentious subject in the world of health - for a long time, fat was considered the enemy, and it wasn't uncommon to see foods labelled as 'low fat'. But over the years, people have realised that fats can often be healthy, so it became a bit more complicated because not all fats are bad. However, it's well documented that too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can cause heart disease and other health issues.
When researching for this guide, I came to a fascinating realisation - many of the healthy cereals that I've written about previously are actually quite high in fat. Take something like Weetabix crunchy bran, which is generally quite healthy and considered to be a healthy cereal. But it contains more than 4g of fat per 100g, which is more than double what you’ll find in the same amount of Coco Pops.
And then you’ve got something like Surreal, a high protein cereal we’ve featured previously. The Surreal Cocoa Hoops contain a whopping 13g of fat per 100g. Crazy!
So as you can see, fat is not everything when it comes to how healthy a cereal is. However, if you're looking to buy a low fat cereal in the UK, you've got loads of great options. Here are some of the lowest fat cereals you can buy:
Waitrose Toasted Rice and Wheat Flakes - 0.9g of fat per 100g
Waitrose has a 'Calorie-controlled' range of cereals, which all actually taste really good. As well as being low in calories (as the name suggests), these cereals are also pretty low in fat too. The lowest fat cereal I could find in this range was the Waitrose Toasted Rice and Wheat Flakes, which contain 0.9g of fat per 100g. They taste quite similar to Special K flakes if that is your type of cereal. Learn more and buy them here - waitrose.com
Kellogg's Corn Flakes - 0.9g of fat per 100g
Despite Special K often being positioned as the lowest fat cereal in the Kellogg's range, Corn Flakes are actually lower in fat than Special K. Kellogg's corn flakes also contain just 0.2g of saturated fat per 100g, so virtually nothing. I love the original Kellogg's corn flakes and would probably choose them over Special K. Learn more and buy them here - groceries.asda.com
Special K - 1.3g of fat per 100g
I've already mentioned that Special K is often marketed as the low fat cereal in the Kellogg's range, and although original Corn Flakes are lower in fat per 100g, there is no denying that at 1.3g of fat per 100g, Special K is still definitely low in fat. I'd also say that although I prefer the simplicity of Corn Flakes, I think Special K has more flavour and a more interesting texture. Learn more and buy them here - tesco.com
Essential Waitrose Cornflakes - 1.2g of fat per 100g
If you want low fat corn flakes but you don't want to pay the extra for the Kellogg's brand, then you could try these own brand corn flakes from Waitrose. I actually could have put any of the own-brand corn flakes I've tried in this guide, because every one I tried contained exactly the same amount of fat per 100g - 1.2g. I've chosen the Essential Waitrose Cornflakes for this guide because I think they taste the best out of all the own-brand corn flakes I tried. Learn more and buy them here - waitrose.com
Tesco Low Fat Special Flakes - 1.3g of fat per 100g
Like the Toasted Rice and Wheat Flakes from Waitrose, the Tesco Low Fat Special Flakes are made from a mix of rice and wholewheat. One thing I'll say is that this cereal is the Tesco own-brand version of Special K, but in my opinion Special K tastes much better, and the Waitrose version is better. And considering they both contain the same amount of fat per 100g, and the Waitrose cereal is even lower, I'd rather stick with Special K or the Waitrose version.
I mentioned in another guide that this cereal is high in Vitamin B12 too, which is an added benefit. Learn more and buy them here - tesco.com
I hope this guide shows that there is plenty of cereal out there that is low in fat, including some popular cereals that might even have in your cupboard!
Finn H
Finn is the editor of You Well and has been writing about travel, health, and more for over 10 years.