Diabetics and people who are trying to lose weight or control cholesterol should try to avoid all forms of ground-up grains, and that includes bread. For everyone else, whole-grain breads are perfectly satisfactory foods.

If you prefer cold cereal, you need to check the list of ingredients carefully. The FIRST ingredient should be a whole grain. Then scan through the entire list and if you see the words "partially hydrogenated," put the box back on the shelf. You should avoid foods with partially hydrogenated oils (or "trans fats"), and they show up in an alarming number of cereal brands

Once you've eliminated all the brands made with refined grains or partially hydrogenated oils, check for added sugars (you want little or none) and fiber (you want a lot.)

The fiber content listed on the nutrition label can be confusing because it's based on serving size, and very light cereals (such as puffed wheat) show little fiber per serving, but an acceptable amount when you adjust for weight. Cereals made from bran (the outer covering removed from whole grains) will have higher fiber content than cereals made from whole grains (which have the germ and starchy parts of the grains as well as the fiber), but they can be hard to digest.