Swapping out certain foods at breakfast may benefit your health and well-being in the long-term
Making certain food swaps could help you lead a healthier lifestyle (stock image)(Image: Mirjana Pusicic/Getty Images)
If you’re keen to start 2026 with a healthier diet, look no further. Official NHS guidance suggests that simple breakfast ‘swaps’ can help you cut down on sugar, salt and fat, thereby improving overall well-being in the long run.
Unfortunately, it’s bad news for anyone who regularly indulges in sweet morning snacks, such as sugar-coated flakes, chocolate cereal and even honey-flavoured varieties. These are among five foods encompassed in the NHS swap-out list, which promotes choosing healthier alternatives instead.
According to the NHS campaign Better Health, it’s best to swap out:
- Chocolate cereals
- Sugar-coated/glazed cereals
- Croissants
- Cereal bars
- Honey-flavoured cereals
Croissants are among the suggested food items for replacement(Image: Simple Images/Getty Images)
Instead, it’s best to eat:
- Wheat biscuit cereals
- Shredded wholegrain cereal
- No-added-sugar muesli
- Porridge
- Wholemeal toast
- Plain natural yoghurt topped with chopped fruit
Many foods on the NHS swap-out list are frequently classified as ultra-processed products. This generally refers to items that have undergone more processing than other foods.
Although not all processed foods are unhealthy, many contain high levels of calories, saturated fat, salt, or sugar. This is especially true for sugar-coated flakes and chocolate granola, which the British Heart Foundation lists as some of the unhealthiest cereals available.
The NHS suggests that plain yoghurt topped with fruit can be a healthy breakfast alternative(Image: Caterina Oltean/Getty Images)
Speaking specifically of sugar-coated flakes, its experts explain: “Sugar-frosted cornflakes are high in sugar and low in fibre, as well as usually coming with added salt. Sugar-frosted flakes can be nutritionally similar to other sweetened cereals like chocolate rice cereals, or honey-nut coated cereals.
“A healthier option is to switch to an unsweetened cereal, like cornflakes or puffed rice, and add some fruit for sweetness that counts towards your five-a-day.”
While these foods are arguably fine in moderation, the NHS suggests that most people could benefit from consuming fewer processed, high-fat, and high-sugar products. Diets high in unhealthy processed foods have been linked to an increased risk of health conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
However, it’s worth noting that foods such as wholemeal bread might technically be ultra-processed, but are often considerably healthier. Further NHS guidance adds: “Looking at food labels can help you choose between processed foods and check the calorie, saturated fat, salt and sugar content (nutrition content). Most pre-packed foods have the nutrition information on the packaging.
“Some food labels use colour-coding to show if the food is high or low in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar.”