Answer: No. Because of Vitamin D3, Frosted Flakes aren’t vegan.
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Are Frosted Flakes Vegan?
If you consider sugar and vitamin D3 as non-vegan components, then Frosty Flakes are non-vegan for you. Besides Vitamin D3 and sugar, Frosty Flakes do not have any other animal-based ingredients. In this article, you will find out the vegan and non-vegan ingredients of Frosted Flakes.
Frosted Flakes or Frosties is a delicious breakfast cereal that is very popular among children and adults. It is a budget-friendly and easy-to-make breakfast too. If you doubt the vegan status of your favorite cereal, let’s clear it out.
What Are Frosted Flakes?
Today, many of us start the day with a bowl of Frosted Flakes. It is a breakfast cereal produced by Kellogg’s company. Frosted Flakes are sugar-coated cornflakes with perfect crispness and thickness. Do you want to know the nutritional benefits of your morning cereal? Let’s have a look.
Nutritional value of 1 cup:
| Nutrition | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Energy | 110 kcal |
| Sugar | 10 g |
| Dietary Fibre | <1 g |
| Saturated Fat | 0 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Calories from Fat | 225 kcal |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
You can see that Frosted Flakes are a nutritionally dense breakfast to kickstart your day. But it will not keep you full for a long time.
About Frosted Flakes Manufacturer
Frosted Flakes or Frosties are sugar-coated cornflakes introduced by Kellogg Company in 1952 in the United States. Dr. John Kellogg and his brother Will Kellogg invented them. They were trying to make a digestible substitute for bread. While experimenting with wheat, they discovered the Flakes. As of 2020, this is the third best-selling cereal brand in the US.
What Are Frosted Flakes Made Of?
To find out your favorite breakfast cereal’s vegan status, let’s have a quick look at its ingredients:
| Vegan | Non-vegan |
|---|---|
| Milled Corn | Sugar |
| Malt Flavouring | Vitamin D3 |
| Salt | |
| Niacinamide | |
| High Fructose Corn Syrup | |
| Sodium Ascorbate | |
| Reduced iron | |
| Ascorbic acid | |
| Riboflavin | |
| Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | |
| Thiamine Hydrochloride | |
| Folic Acid | |
| Vitamin A Palmitate | |
| BHT | |
| Vitamin B12 |
So, Frosted Flakes do not have any blatant animal ingredients other than Sugar and Vitamin D3. Now, we will discuss more of these two questionable ingredients.
Why Is Vitamin D3 Not Vegan?
Vitamin D3 may or may not be vegan. You can commonly find Vitamin D in most fortified foods. It is known as an element of strength and nutrition that keeps your bones, teeth, and muscles healthy. The kind of Vitamin D used in Frosty flakes is Vitamin D3. We obtain it from either lanolin (animal-based) or lichen (plant-based).
What Is Lanolin?
Lanolin is a wool wax recreated by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. It keeps their wool moisturized, soft, and guarded against the outside elements. Raw wool is either treated with soap or hot water, isolating the lanolin. It is followed by some processes like bleaching, deodorizing, and drying.
Lichen-based Vitamin D3 is a vegan-friendly source.
Generally, Vitamin D3 is non-vegan because many industries use animal-derived Vitamin D3. In the case of Frosty Flakes, it is not specified on the label if it comes from lanolin or lichen.
Although lanolin is an animal-driven component, Frosty Flakes contains only a few micrograms of Vitamin D3. Because of that, some vegans do not like to cut out their favorite breakfast cereal. Again, it depends on your own opinion.
Why Is Sugar Not Vegan?
It’s not that sugar isn’t vegan. Sugar may or may not be vegan because it comes from cane sugar and beet sugar. Some industries use bone char in the process of cane sugar refinement. Bone char is a granular material produced by burning animal bones, mainly cattle. It is often considered natural carbon. Many sugar industries use bone char as a decolorizing filter. That is why this sugar refinement process is unacceptable to many vegans.
However, we don’t obtain beet sugar with bone char. Beet sugar is extracted using a diffuser and mixed with additives to crystallize.
The problem with Frosted Flakes is that you do not know which sugar they use. The refined sugar doesn’t contain bone char particles, but it meets bone char. If you are against using bone char in the sugar refinement process, I highly recommend connecting with the company.
Again, there are five variations of Frosted Flakes, which include:
- Cinnamon Frosted Flakes
- Frosted Flakes with Chocolates and Marshmallows
- Chocolate Frosted Flakes
- Honey Nut Frosted Flakes
- Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows
Other than Cinnamon and Chocolates Frosted Flakes, Other variations contain honey and gelatine.
Honey is extracted from beehives and has a direct impact on bees. Gelatine is a protein produced by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, or bones. Gelatine is non-vegan. Therefore, if you are alright about consuming sugar and Vitamin D3, mind that some Frosted Flakes variations have honey and gelatine.
Frosted Flakes Are Probably Not Safe for Vegans
Because of Vitamin D3, Frosted Flakes aren’t vegan. The controversial elements like Vitamin D3 and added sugar may not give you enough confidence to consume Frosted Flakes.
What Are the Vegan Alternatives of Frosted Flakes?
If you are inclined towards Frosted Flakes and looking for a pure plant-based vegan alternative, then you can try “Envirokidz organic lightly Frosted amazon flakes.”
Are Frosted Flakes Healthy? Why or Why Not?
Not really. Frosted Flakes contain sugar. Sadly, the addition of sugar makes them tasty but not healthy. Along with that, they are low in fiber and protein as well. If you will take a bowl of Frosted Flakes in the morning, try to add some raw fruits or dry fruits. It is a processed food item. I would rather take a green smoothie than Frosted Flakes for breakfast.
Health Concerns and Frosted Flakes
In our daily busy life, we want to have a quick breakfast. But we still want to have a nutritious, healthy breakfast. Frosted Flakes are a popular and delicious breakfast option. Although Frosted Flakes contain corn, they are coated with sugar. Along with that, Frosted Flakes also contain malt flavoring and high fructose corn syrup.
These ingredients have a high level of glycaemic index (GI). The glycaemic index increases the level of sugar in the blood. Even though cells in our bodies require sugar, excessive sugar intake can be hazardous to health.
Compared to health concerns like diabetes, tooth decay, and cardiovascular diseases, Frosted Flakes bring significantly less nutritional value to the table.
Are Frosted Flakes Gluten-Free?
No, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes use malt flavoring as the main ingredient. Malt is an extract of barley, and barley is not gluten-free.
Do Frosted Flakes Help You Lose Weight?
The answer will surprise you. This popular choice of breakfast doesn’t help in weight loss. Although it is convenient to prepare, less time-consuming, and readily available. The nutritional benefit chart indicates that Frosted Flakes are not a healthy breakfast option.
The Frosted Flakes have very minimal fat content. But the sugar added to the flakes makes them unhealthy. If you consume a high-sugar content breakfast daily, it will make the body resistant to insulin. Higher insulin levels in the body will increase the blood sugar level, allowing the body cells to store fat. Ultimately, this leads to weight gain, not weight loss.
Final Thoughts
We know Frosted Flakes are delicious alternatives to bread in your breakfast. Some vegans are okay with Vitamin D3 and sugar. That’s because there is a negligible amount of D3 added to Frosted Flakes, and some vegans don’t want to give up their favorite cereal because of that. However, it depends on your definition of veganism. I have clarified the vegan status of Frosted Flakes, and now, you have to decide for yourself so that you can feel good about your choices. As long as you are okay with the mentioned non-vegan ingredients, you can enjoy a bowl of Frosted Flakes as a quick, easy-to-make, and tasty breakfast.
