Do you have a healthy breakfast every morning at home or maybe at work?
Do you spend enough time in the morning preparing the best possible breakfast for your kids?
Be honest.
We are sure that most people will answer this question in a negative tone, as we all know that we are so busy during the day, particularly in the morning when we are in a major rush.
A long working day, crowded with business obligations does not leave you many opportunities for a healthy and balanced diet or measuring your calorie intake.
And it sounds like an impossible mission considering that the modern way of life affects all of us, and along with it comes our inability to devote enough time to the diet we practice every day.
This especially applies to the most important meal of the day, namely breakfast.
Nowadays, a large number of people increasingly forget to eat breakfast, hurrying to work, and if they do eat breakfast, it is on the way to work, and the choice is almost always reduced to some fast, usually unhealthy food.
Here we could say that the easiest breakfast you could imagine is the one that you simply put inside of the bowl and cover with some milk, and yes of course we are talking about cereals, as the most common and easiest breakfast.
On the market, there are many to choose from, different types and flavorings, but today we will speak more about one special kind, that is extremely popular in America, but it is consumed all over the world.
This type of cereal has a very interesting name and branding and we could say that Lucky Charms are primarily known to consumers in the US, but their notoriety has expanded to the world, as they are very popular.
All of us know their commercials when children are having precisely them for breakfast.
The Muslim community is huge and we wanted to know do they fall under the category of those who can consume them.
At first glance, there is nothing alarming and that could be a problem, but just like in all things that are made in factories, there can be a certain problem.
Is Lucky Charms Halal or Haram In Islam?
On the market, you can find various kinds of cereal, all of which are branded in different ways.
Some of them are branded as healthy, or just for youngsters, and some of them are so interesting that children adore them.
Some of them are not only halal-certified but also tasty, with wonderful texture and their health status can be debatable.
Some of them are truly made out of natural elements and do not have anything artificial in them, not color or flavorings.
But, when it comes to this brand; Lucky Charms are not falling under the category healthy, nor they could be considered to be halal, vegan, or kosher, as they contain pork gelatin, which is out of the question for all three categories of dietary rules.
Even the company that produces them has stated that they contain gelatin.
Note that Lucky Charms cereal is neither kosher and they are also not vegetarian. In both cases, pork gelatin poses the issue.
Now, you may wonder if the situation is any different in some other countries, like for example, Malaysia.
Not even here Lucky charms are seen as permissible food, despite the fact that the elements used to make them do not have to come from some haram source, like pork meat.
Even in a country like Malaysia, this cereal is made outside and in a place where Islamic rules are not followed.
Actually if you bye them here you could not be certain that you are consuming halal cereal.
So, what part here contains the pork gelatin?
It is in fact, marshmallows that are many favorite parts of the Lucky Charm.
Lucky Charms ingredients
In them primarily there is a lot of sugar – corn syrup, sugar, and dextrose.
then whole grain pats, cornstarch, colors, gelatin, and salt.
Also here is vitamin E, for making the product as fresh as it could be, and natural and also artificial flavoring.
So, as you can see the problem lies in gelatine, which is made from an animal most notably pork, at times beef.
But it is not written that the gelatin is from beef, so we can presume that it comes from pork.
This is also confirmed by the company itself.
General Mills is the company that makes this cereal and they have stated their product has gelatin that comes from pork collagen.
This is the gelatin found in marshmallows that are inside this box of cereal.
It does not compromise the taste of the food and also it does not have any color, which stays in the response of the company.
So, gelatin from pork is found here, in some parts and this is the reason why Lucky charms are considered to be banned for the Islamic community.
As it is said in Quran – anything that is obtained from something else that is considered to be haram, is also seen as haram.
In this case, this is the gelatin.
When it is obtained from something that is forbidden such as a pig or its parts that are also haram, like bones and skin then this by-product also becomes haram or banned for people of this community.
To remind you, the pig is in Islamic tradition seen as an impure animal, that is a carrier of many illnesses, that is dirty, and that all of its parts are toxic, and should not be consumed.
That is the reason why pork meat and fat of this animal are of inferior quality, hard to digest, and damaging to health.
Rules in Islamic tradition, are dealing not just with food but are taking things to the greater level, as all believers in Allah should be clean from the outside (ritual bathing) and from the inside, and this does touch the matter of food they consume on a regular basis.
What flavors of Lucky Charm are halal?
Are there any flavorings that could be halal?
If we would presume that the gelatin is beef, then Original, Minecraft Marshmallow, Chocolatey, and Marshmallow Clusters fall under this category.
But also you can be certain and buy an alternative to this.
More about Cereals
You do not have to be in love with them if you are not a kid, but we must agree that this is one of the most common breakfast foods, that all of us at times reach for.
But, not many of them are considered to be healthy.
Cereal packaging screams messages about the number of vitamins, and often times they are added artificially.
Nutritionists believe that due to the amount of sugar, these products should be among the sweets, and not on the health food shelves and that the amount of vitamins and branding as something healthy would not “save them”.
No parent would allow a child to eat an entire bar of chocolate for breakfast.
Nevertheless, almost everyone will whip up a portion of chocolate, which contains 45 grams of sugar in 100 grams, only two grams less than 90 grams of chocolate.
That’s why nutritionists advise customers to seriously read what is written on the label, and the one on the back of the box.
This is also one of advice that is given to people who must follow dietary rules for religious purposes.
It is so important to do so.
Just one look at the declaration will show you that, in general, all cereals hold between 20 and 30 grams of sugar per 100 grams of product or four to five teaspoons of sugar.
During the processing of grains, many of their nutrients disappear, and the puffed product is as tasty as sheets of newspaper.
For them to have a good taste, sugar is added, and numerous colorings and flavors.
These are reasons why nutritionists believe that most industrial cereals are, precisely because of this, not a desirable breakfast.
This is a processed food, industrially processed, the more it contains artificial ingredients that we do not understand, and for children to like cereals, a lot of sugar is added to them.
Sugar robs us of all vitamins, minerals, and iron.
Despite this, cereals are found on health food shelves in stores and are commonly consumed.
And if so, maybe moderation is the key here.
Conclusion
Now, we have concluded that all of us from time to time or even regularly consume these cereals, and if you are a kid even more often.
Lucky Charms cereals are the favored selection of a so-called fruit loop cereal and this is a favorite choice for all generations.
They are in fact a mixture of different shapes and forms and for many the favorite part are mini marshmallows that are found here.
We could freely say that all generations love it, children and also adults.
And there is not a shred of doubt also that this is not the healthiest breakfast you could imagine, but also we have to say that if you eat it, do not do it regularly as it is not very good for you, you can gain some weight as it has a great amount of sugar inside.
Another matter that we have dealt with here is the fact that this brand of fruity cereals cannot be seen as halal.
The problem here comes from the fact that they have gelatin inside and this type is an animal origin, pork most notably, and people of the Islamic religion could not consume it.
They are haram – and always when you go and shop for something for yourself and members of your family, you must look for the halal certificate, if there is none, then look on the list of ingredients and always avoid food items those that have gelatin, although it can be gelatin from beef, most commonly it comes from pork.
The company that produces them has confirmed it – General Mills has stated that they use pork gelatin in the process of making this product.
As we terminate all the analysis the response to this question is this type of cereal halal, and we have come to the answer that it is not, as it has pig gelatin.
Those companies still need gelatin, but they replace pork gelatin, which is not suitable for the Islamic community with gelatin that comes from beef or one that is plant-based.
This is a common practice, but numerous companies avoid it, as they find it very expensive.
But, luckily there are so many other options from brands like Nestle, etc.
All of them are halal and are safe for consumption by people of the Islamic community.
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