But medical experts are warning that washing your cereal down with coffee or tea could lead to health issues.
Cereal is a great way to get iron into your digestive system but when followed with a coffee or tea, this can reduce the nutritional benefits we get from this food.
The NHS warns this is because the tannins in these drinks can reduce iron absorption when consumed with a meal or shortly after.
How many cups of tea/coffee should you drink a day?
Tannins are a type of organic compound found in many plants, including coffee beans.
So when you gulp down a coffee or tea post-breakfast, coffee binds to the iron fuelled from your cereal, making it harder for your body to absorb this crucial mineral.
Does iron have any health benefits?
Iron is a vital part of our diet as it produces haemoglobin, the substance found in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body.
It is also important for building and keeping healthy muscles and for many of the body’s functions and reactions.
Low levels of this crucial mineral may lead you to experience symptoms such as brittle nails, hair loss, dizziness and headaches.
So, to combat this issue, the NHS is urging Brits to be patient and have a coffee or tea an hour before or after a meal.
Dr Amy Vowler, a GP and hair surgeon, also revealed how drinking coffee with iron-rich meals could also be damaging your hair.
Dr Amy said: “This matters because iron deficiency ranks amongst the most common nutritional causes of hair loss, affecting how oxygen reaches your hair follicles and disrupting normal growth cycles.
“If you’ve noticed increased shedding, thinning hair, or slower growth despite a seemingly healthy diet, your coffee habits might deserve closer scrutiny.”
What foods are highest in iron?
The NHS recommend including these iron-rich foods in their diets: red meat, fortified breakfast cereals, beans and pulses, green vegetables, nuts and seeds and dried fruit.
To help get the most iron from the food you eat, the NHS advises eating foods rich in Vitamin C, such as fresh fruit and vegetables and drinks such as fresh orange juice, alongside meals.
Steaming rather than boiling green vegetables can also help to reduce the amount of iron and other nutrients that are lost during cooking.
On the NHS website, it said: “Iron is needed to make haemoglobin. Haemoglobin (Hb), is the substance found in red blood cells that carries oxygen around your body and gives blood its red colour.
“Iron is also important for building and maintaining healthy muscles and for many of the body’s functions and reactions.
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“A lack of iron can cause symptoms such as restless legs, strange dietary cravings known as pica, brittle nails, hair loss, dizziness and headaches.
“Low iron could also make other conditions worse. If iron levels remain uncorrected, haemoglobin levels may fall.
“This is known as iron deficiency anaemia, and can cause paleness, severe tiredness, shortness of breath and heart palpitations, as well as those symptoms listed above.”
