Gastroenterologist reveals the 5 most unhealthy breakfast foods

Breakfast of failures?

Gastroenterologist from California Dr. Saurabh Sethi has taken to TikTok to name the five most unhealthy breakfast foods.

We’ve long been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, a metabolic boost that provides the foundation of nutrition. However, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a quarter of us skip breakfast, and it seems that even those who do take the time to get up and eat don’t always make healthy choices.

Indeed, experts argue that what what you eat is more important than when you eat, and as Sethi (@doctorsethimd) told his 476,000 followers, many people start their day undernourished by choosing bad-news breakfast foods.

The good doctor previously shared his surprising pick for the “healthiest alcohol” and three reasons why bananas should be excluded from your fruit smoothie recipes.

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Smoked pork tops Sethi’s list of breakfast foods to avoid.

“Bacon is highly processed and full of unhealthy fats and nitrates, which have been linked to numerous cancers, including stomach and colon cancer,” he explained.

Processed meats such as bacon are salted, cured, smoked or chemically preserved for a long shelf life.

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” in 2015 due to “sufficient evidence from epidemiological studies that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer”.

The MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas reports that the heme, nitrates and nitrites in processed meats can damage the cells that line the intestine, increasing the risk of cancer.

Plus, cooking processed meats at high temperatures, IE, frying bacon, can produce heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chemicals that have been shown to cause cancer in animals.

Cereal for breakfast

Sethi warned that many breakfast cereals are “loaded with high amounts of sugar”.

And for specific brands, sugar is just one of a long list of potentially toxic ingredients.

In October 2024, more than 1,000 cereal lovers and health activists marched on Kellogg’s Michigan headquarters, demanding an end to the injection of “harmful additives” into American batches of products like Froot Loops and Apple Jacks.

In March of last year, Kellogg investor Jason Karp, the founder and CEO of health food company HumanCo, blasted Kellogg, claiming that “in pursuit of short-term profits, Kellogg fills its most popular products with cereals in the US … with harmful artificials. colors, such as Red 40, Yellow 6 and Blue 1, as well as BHT preservatives.

Granola

Sethi argued that granola should be consumed with caution because it contains high levels of sugar and unhealthy fats.

Courtney Smith, a registered dietitian, echoed Seth’s sentiment. Smith previously told The Post that granola is a “health halo,” meaning it’s a food that’s marketed as healthy but hides harmful ingredients.

“Granola may seem like a healthy cereal option, but it contains a large amount of added sugar, which is used to form clumps.”

She recommends eating calorie-dense granola as a topping instead of a bowl.

Pancakes

Standard pancakes are off the table for Seth, who says the sweet stacks should be consumed in moderation or, better yet, swapped out for whole-wheat varieties.

Last year, a diabetic CEO who used a “digital twin” app to monitor his blood sugar, food, exercise, sleep and medications shared his diabetes-friendly pancake recipe. Made with almond flour, these cakes offer twice the protein and four times the fiber of regular flour without spiking blood sugar.

Donuts

No surprises here, folks; donuts were given a spot on Seth’s list of worst breakfast foods.

“Dutnuts should be avoided in the morning to prevent significant increases in sugar,” he explained.

Donuts are generally considered an ultra-processed food (UPF), a type of consumable that has been linked to increased cancer rates.

Recent research has shown that 60% of American adults’ daily calorie intake comes from ultra-processed foods (UPF) – and for children, it’s 70%.

A study published by the BMJ found that exposure to UPFs was linked to 32 adverse health outcomes, including mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and metabolic complications. Some of the associated conditions include cancer, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.