While I was out shopping Thursday, I just happen to stop and look at this fancy box of cereal that was covered in unicorns and rainbows. One would think this would be a great food for a young girl just by how it was packaged.

So here’s the truth about that box of cereal.

I took a quick pic of the label on this product so I could break it down.

16 grams of sugar per serving. Serving size is 1 cup. Don’t know too many kids measuring out 1 cup of cereal to eat each morning.

Kids just fill up a bowl to eat from in my experience. One full bowl of cereal measures at about 2 cups. That’s 32 grams of sugar. Milk adds extra sugar. If you eat cereal with milk (approx 1 cup of milk skim or 2%) it’s another 8 to 12 grams of sugar. .

That brings this glorious bowl of rainbows and unicorns to as much as 44 grams of sugar.

According to the American Heart Association a full grown woman should eat no more than 25 grams of sugar a day. .

So if your kid is eating this for one meal they are potentially getting more than the recommended allowance of sugar for an adult for the entire day in one sitting. .

In addition, this particular product has some dyes in it that were and are banned outside the US.

Europe has recently allowed some of these dyes to be sold on the market with a warning label, but some are still banned in other countries.

“Yellow food dyes No. 5 and No. 6, and Red Dye No. 40. These dyes can be used in foods sold in Europe, but the products must carry a warning saying the coloring agents “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.”

Not only may this amount of sugar be harmful, but what about the added chemicals?

I want to be clear I’m not blaming any company or product here. It’s our job as consumers to know what we are buying. They aren’t going to highlight the negatives of their product and they shouldn’t have to. We need to be aware and stop buying products like this one. .

When we stop spending our money on garbage like this they will be forced to make better products. Be aware, know what you are eating.