What Proteins Are in Cereals?

Cereal is one of the best types of foods in the bread sector of the food pyramid. In an unprocessed state, meaning this excludes sugar based cereals like Cocoa Puffs, Cap'n Crunch or Frosted Flakes, cereal is highly nutritious. Rich in protein and fiber, cereal provides essential nutrients for healthy and active living. Another key ingredient in most natural cereal is grain, which is where a large portion of the fiber content in cereal is derived from.

Gluten

• Like many other bread based products that require leavening, cereal contains an important protein called gluten. Gluten is a leftover substance that remains after starch has been removed from cereal. Grains that originate from grass, such as rye and barley, are especially chockfull of gluten.

Enzymes

• The presence of enzymes in cereal is also an important source of protein. Enzymes aid in the digestion of food and help transmit nerve impulses. The importance of enzymes is in their acceleration of chemical reactions like the ones mentioned above.

Amino Acids

• Most cereals, whether corn, wheat, rice, or barley based, have amino acids, often called the building blocks of protein. Humans are not fully able to produce as many necessary amino acids internally, which is why cereal is a good supplementary method for increasing one's amino acids. When a certain number of amino acids are linked together, the chemical composition creates protein.