Cheerios Nutrition Calculator — 4.9g vs 32.4g Sugar, Whole Grain Oats Turned into Fortification-Dependent O's

Plain Cheerios (FDC 2708448 — O-shaped toasted oat cereal) contain just 4.9g sugar per 100g — less than corn flakes (8g), dramatically less than granola (24.5g), and only slightly more than plain oats (1g). A 1-cup serving (~28g) has roughly 1.4g sugar, making plain Cheerios one of the lowest-sugar mainstream breakfast cereals available ^[1].

Honey Nut Cheerios (FDC 2708464) contain 32.4g sugar per 100g — a 561% increase over the plain version. A single cup (~28g) delivers 9.1g sugar (about 2.3 teaspoons), and a typical bowl with milk pushes total sugar well past 12g. Despite sharing a brand name and visual similarity, these are nutritionally different products ^[1].

The sweetening adds a modest 11 calories per 100g (374 → 385), because sugar partially displaces oat mass rather than purely adding on top. But the downstream effects are significant: protein drops from 12.4g to 8.62g (30% less), fiber from 10.5g to 7.6g (28% less), iron from 30.9mg to 11.7mg (62% less), and magnesium from 130mg to 90mg (31% less). The honey nut version dilutes nearly every beneficial nutrient ^[1].

Plain Cheerios have 30.9mg iron per 100g (172% DV) — the highest among the cereals in our database, edging out corn flakes (28.9mg) and bran cereal (28.1mg). A 1-cup serving delivers 8.7mg iron (48% DV). Like all fortified cereals, this iron comes from added reduced iron powder, not from the oats themselves — whole grain oats naturally contain about 4.25mg iron per 100g ^[1][2].

Calcium at 368mg per 100g (28% DV) is notably high for a cereal — corn flakes have 133mg, bran cereal 19mg, and plain oats 52mg. This fortification makes Cheerios one of the few dry cereals that delivers meaningful calcium per serving: 103mg per cup (8% DV) before adding milk. With ½ cup milk, calcium reaches approximately 253mg (19% DV) per breakfast ^[1].

The full fortification profile includes vitamin D at 5mcg (25% DV), vitamin C at 22.9mg (25% DV), thiamine at 0.88mg (73% DV), niacin at 7.03mg (44% DV), and folate at 150mcg (38% DV). Selenium at 27.3mcg (50% DV) appears naturally elevated from the whole grain oats, not from fortification — a genuine nutritional contribution from the oat ingredient itself ^[1].

Plain Cheerios provide 12.4g protein per 100g — higher than corn flakes (7g), bran cereal (9.65g), and approaching oats (13.2g) and granola (13.7g). This protein comes primarily from the whole grain oat flour that is the first ingredient. Oats naturally contain more protein than most grains, and the Cheerios manufacturing process preserves most of it ^[1][2].

Fiber at 10.5g per 100g (38% DV) is moderate-high for a processed cereal — less than bran cereal (20.5g) but far above corn flakes (0.7g). A cup provides 2.9g fiber (10% DV), and a typical 1.5-cup bowl reaches 4.4g (16% DV). The oat processing into O-shapes involves cooking, extrusion, and toasting, which reduces some of the original oat fiber but retains the majority ^[1].

Magnesium at 130mg per 100g (31% DV) is naturally contributed by the whole grain oats — one of the few minerals where the oat's own nutritional profile outshines the fortification. Plain oats have 138mg, so Cheerios retain about 94% of the magnesium through processing. Similarly, phosphorus at 387mg (31% DV) reflects genuine oat mineral content rather than added fortification ^[1].

Plain Cheerios have 506mg sodium per 100g (22% DV) — lower than corn flakes (729mg) and bran cereal (585mg), but vastly higher than plain oats (6mg). A 1-cup serving has 142mg sodium, and a typical bowl with milk reaches approximately 200mg. The sodium comes from salt added during the extrusion and flavoring process — whole grain oats are essentially sodium-free ^[1].

Total fat at 6.17g per 100g with 1.05g saturated is moderate — higher than corn flakes (0.44g) and bran cereal (2.42g), but lower than granola (24.3g). Plain oats have 6.9g fat naturally, so the Cheerios value is consistent with the oat ingredient. The fat in Cheerios is primarily from the oat's natural lipids, not from added oils ^[1].

Calories at 374 kcal per 100g place plain Cheerios mid-range among breakfast cereals — higher than corn flakes (357 kcal) and bran cereal (361 kcal), lower than granola (489 kcal). But per-cup comparisons change the picture: because Cheerios are hollow O-shapes with low bulk density, a cup weighs only ~28g (105 kcal), while a cup of granola weighs ~120g (587 kcal). Volume-based serving sizes favor Cheerios significantly ^[1].