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The 19 Unhealthiest Cereals, from Cap’n Crunch to Honey Smacks to Quaker Granola (PHOTOS)

The Daily Beast ranks the least nutritious cereals.

Published Oct. 24 2011 9:00PM EDT

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-tease_z0fe8h

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-tease_r4f3ko — Sure, some fast food chains are worse than others, not all pizzas are created equal, and even some frozen dinners can be hazardous to your health.

But here’s a new one: is there a saturated fat- and calorie-bomb lurking inside that innocent-seeming bowl of cereal? A bowl of Cap’n Crunch isn’t as bad as a sodium-packed slice of pepperoni pizza, but there’s still loads of sugar—up to 50% for some brands—in every bite of many popular breakfast cereals.

To find the 20 deadliest cereals on your grocer’s shelf, The Daily Beast used data from Good Guide and limited our list to the most popular brands. This ranking is based on Good Guide’s health score, on a scale of 0 to 10, worst to best. Ties were broken by total calories per serving.

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-honey-combs_xkxnag — Calories: 120

Saturated fat (g): 1

Carbohydrates (g): 24

Sugar (g): 9

Good Guide health grade: 4.4

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-medley_o9acdi — Calories: 220

Saturated fat (g): 1.5

Carbohydrates (g): 38

Sugar (g): 12

Good Guide health grade: 4.4

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-alpha-bits_jdmmom — Calories: 110

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 23

Sugar (g): 10

Good Guide health grade: 4.3

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-golden-crisp_z2pwkx — Calories: 110

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 24

Sugar (g): 14

Good Guide health grade: 4.3

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-raisin-bran_ungzmj — Calories: 190

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 45

Sugar (g): 19

Good Guide health grade: 4.0

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-krispies-treats_j36vnq — Calories: 120

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 26

Sugar (g): 9

Good Guide health grade: 3.9

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-minibix_sxvyva — Calories: 200

Saturated fat (g): 1.5

Carbohydrates (g): 44

Sugar (g): 14

Good Guide health grade: 3.8

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-blueberry-morning_cibwnw — Calories: 220

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 45

Sugar (g): 16

Good Guide health grade: 3.8

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-mueslix_sqfy6p — Calories: 200

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 40

Sugar (g): 17

Good Guide health grade: 3.7

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-raisin-nut-bran_qxttle — Calories: 180

Saturated fat (g): .5

Carbohydrates (g): 38

Sugar (g): 14

Good Guide health grade: 3.6

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-shredded-wheat_gy9kul — Calories: 190

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 44

Sugar (g): 12

Good Guide health grade: 3.4

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-cocoa-pepples_vjp59k — Calories: 110

Saturated fat (g): 1

Carbohydrates (g): 26

Sugar (g): 11

Good Guide health grade: 3.3

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-fruity-pebbles_zi4sy0 — Calories: 110

Saturated fat (g): 1

Carbohydrates (g): 26

Sugar (g): 11

Good Guide health grade: 3.3

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-corn-pops_enlhcr — Calories: 110

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 26

Sugar (g): 12

Good Guide health grade: 3.2

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-waffle-crisp_qaaqxq — Calories: 120

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 25

Sugar (g): 12

Good Guide health grade: 3.2

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-maple-crunch_o2j9td — Calories: 220

Saturated fat (g): 2

Carbohydrates (g): 40

Sugar (g): 13

Good Guide health grade: 3.1

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-toasted-honey-crunch_witpu0 — Calories: 220

Saturated fat (g): .5

Carbohydrates (g): 50

Sugar (g): 19

Good Guide health grade: 3.0

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-honey-smacks_izvgvv — Calories: 100

Saturated fat (g): 0

Carbohydrates (g): 24

Sugar (g): 15

Good Guide health grade: 2.9

galleries/2011/10/24/the-20-unhealthiest-cereals-from-capn-crunch-to-honey-smacks-to-quaker-granola-photos/unhealthy-cereal-gal-captain-crunch_o5dcc9 — Calories: 110

Saturated fat (g): 1

Carbohydrates (g): 23

Sugar (g): 12

Good Guide health grade: 2.8

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