They have less sugar per calorie much more protein and just a little less fiber as well as plenty of vitamins too
Phytonutrients. There’s a whack of phytochemicals in fruit and vegetables that make them a thousand times healthier than processed foods
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/phytochemical
This may be “controversial,” but it’s becoming increasingly backed by research that many additives are, or can be, harmful. Recent Example: carboxymethylcellulose. Ubiquitous food additive alters human microbiota and intestinal environment
There are still far too many unknowns. However, it is “best practice,” given current state of knowledge, to reduce processed foods as much as possible.
*also this is an excellent question and more people should be asking it because it’s not an obvious “thing.” Thank you for being critical and asking! Please continue doing so!
I think you hit it when you said ‘frosted’.
Having sugared foods in your regular routine will make you crave sweet things more often leading to lots of unhealthy nutritional choices. You’ll also experience energy crashes whereas natural sugars in fruit will release more slowly.
Depends on your goals. If you’re focused on your macros then the cereal could be more ideal for you. For longevity, immunity, inflammation, the less processed fruit with more natural vitamins is your better option. But neither is really good or bad.
You must consider that mini wheats will not be consistent in terms of nutrient density. What is on the label is best case scenario. If the goal is JUST macros then you answered your own question it is better. However you must consider the body’s inflammatory response to the wheat and sugars, vs how it would treat an apple. Also, the micros of the food in the apple would always be better due to bioavailability.
Here’s an article on bht. Haven’t dug in too much but there’s some food for thought there.
Like others have said, Nutritional science is an absolute mess. That being said, a lot of pretentious people will wave their Biology degrees at you and shout scientific-sounding platitudes like “there is no peer-reviewed evidence for X being carcinogenic/causing inflammation” and then tell you that it’s all about the macros, and if the macros are the same, it doesn’t matter whether you’re eating a head of broccoli or jujubes and cheetos.
As u/kathytee821 said - which one needs a label to tell you it’s food?
Because apples have fiber and complex carbs when mini wheats have simple carbs and almost no fiber which cause a sugar rush and a crash.
Edit: wheats have more fiber than apples and also mini wheats use whole grain stuff https://www.frostedminiwheats.com/en_US/nutrition.html so i guess mini wheats are unhealthy because their high sugar content https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000199349 12 g per 60 grams of cereal so around 20 g of sugar per 100 g of cereal. Apples have 10 g/100g sugar .
Edit2: more info in the responses
All of the comments kinda sum up to “food that’s processed is bad,” but what constitutes processed food or how it’s even defined is borderline nonsensical
Nutritional science is such a mess, but through the smoke it’s basically been established that as long as your BF% is low and you’re getting the appropriate exercise/nutrients, nothing else really matters. You can eat mini wheats every day controlling for the other stuff and it won’t do shit. Very few food items, even processed, contain straight up carcinogens cause most ingredients go through multiple levels of approval..
Ask yourself this. Which food has an ingredient label to tell you it’s “food?” Which one doesn’t need one, because it’s obviously food?
Fruits, vegetables, herbs, and anything naturally growing on Earth have evolved for millennia alongside life on Earth. This means that each plant had to develop a complex defense system against diseases, bacteria, viruses, and predators. So when you consume that apple, you’re consuming so much more than the basic elements you think it contains. You’re consuming the evolutionarily complex messages this apple contains that helped it survive on Earth, and it’s now being used for YOUR body.
An apple is much more than the calories, fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc it contains. It’s phytonutrients, thousands of cellular messages being delivered to your cells, thus supporting your immunity and health overall, and so complex you’d need an entire 300-page book to actually break down the systemic positive effects it has on your body.
If the food created in a lab has an ingredient label to tell you it’s food, it’s (9/10x) inferior for your health than plant based foods (and high quality meats/fish).
Processed junk foods tend to be worse than while foods. If you don’t want to do any research yourself just try and stick to whole foods, plenty of carried coloured vegetables and unprocessed meat and fish.
Frosted mini wheats are processed and apples are not.
Frosted mini wheats contain processed sugars and apples do not.
Apples have natural vitamins, nutrients, fiber, and some protein in them while Frosted mini wheats are all processed versions.
Frosted mini wheats contain processed cards while apples have natural carbs.
Basically, processed foods are not as healthy for you. Most of the processing can make the nutrients, vitamins, etc less bountiful than natural foods.
Apple isn’t processed grains, your body can break it down much easier. No processed sugars. Kellogg’s (among many other brands) use glyphosate, a known carcinogen, and cereals like this test way higher than is considered a “safe” level of consumption of Roundup… The wheat is heavy w/ pesticides and the rice will contain arsenic.
Limiting pesticides choose organic apples and peel it. There’s a list for the EWG’s clean 15 and dirty dozen
No food is “good” or “bad” . Food is always situational dependent. Whats the situation ? Are you in a calorie deficit or a surplus ? Are you eating this before or after a workout ? What else have you ate that day ? Have you ate enough protein ? We need to stop classifying food as good or bad. Im a spartan athlete who trains twice a day . What I eat is not what a 300lbs obese man should eat or what a bodybuilder trying to cut weight should eat. We are all in different situations . Next time don’t ask what food is better or what food is good or bad, ask your self if this food is situational appropriate or not
Fruit is pretty high in sugar and actually can be an easy way to put yourself in a caloric surplus and gain weight, especially if you turn it into juice.
However, whole fruits have a good amount of fiber, apples in particular are reasonably satiating, they tend to have a good variety of important micronutrients, and so thereby are usually a better choice than sugary breakfast cereal. Cereal provides sugar, basically. Carbohydrates are important, and simple carbs that digest fast can be great for quick energy.
Most people would have an easier time downing an entire box of sugary cereal than the equivalent calories from whole apples.
All of this people really discussing about this? Nutritionists have tons of divulgation and teaching work to do.
This is the problem when you dont have any food culture legacy. When you are born in a country where mediterranean diet was cooked by your mum every single day of your childhood, this question does not have place.
Frosted mini wheats are made with food that is genetically modified to create their own pesticides internally, namely - the wheat.
When you break this food down in your gut you expose your microbiome to these pesticides that cause a different balance of bacteria than what nature intended. This is more-so than usual shifts from our natural gut microbiomel, as say a high sugar diet, because of the chemical nature of this pesticidal influence throughout your digestive system and intestinal lining.
Many, many people in developed countries have gut/nutrition issues due to this. Gut health is also tied to mental health and you’ll see add, anxiety, depression rates skyrocket in places where this food is being administered where it wasn’t before. It’s not rocket science.
In short, all gmo foods have a specific trait, and that trait is to create pesticides internally. When you break this food down you introduce these raw pesticides to your digestive system. The wreaks havoc on your physical and mental health.
Added sugar in mini wheats is not the same as the fructose from apples. Sucrose, added sugars and high fructose corn syrup is less desirable if you’ve got insulin sensitivity.
There’s nothing you’re throwing at your body it can’t handle with what you’re doing. But even if you just look at the nutritional information you will see that any similarities between apples and mini wheats is purely cosmetic.
Is an apple healthier? Do you even care? You don’t need to diminish apples to justify eating cereal.
An apple provides a lot more than the fortified mini wheats do. It’s a complete food. It doesn’t need fortification or added anything. (Don’t start on GMOs with me. Grow your own food without GMOs and invite me to dinner or shut up)
But mini wheats aren’t robbing you of anything or adding something you can’t deal with so it doesn’t matter.
So this is a really good question since it makes you think about what criteria to use to judge foods.
I think you can shorten the question to “why is an apple healthy”. On paper, it has a lot of sugar. But the main reason is the fiber and water, which make it decently satiating.
The phytochemicals are just a nice bonus. Apple juice still has phytochemicals, and people don’t consider that to be healthy.
All water sugars (natural sugars) for the apple the mini wheats are processed sugars dry added refined sugars no water content water will help you better digest the sugars therefore the apples sugars are healthier by less time and effort to digest
The replies to this question…
Is r/nutrition a step away from talking about how healthy crystals are?
And how has no one asked “what does OP mean by “healthy?” Who said an apple is “healthier?””