An article by The Daily Green reported today:
"Just weeks after Kellogg agreed to stop a national advertising campaign that misleadingly claimed its Frosted Mini Wheats boost kids' attention spans, General Mills has been ordered by the Food and Drug Administration to scale back its claims about what Cheerios can do for your health. In essence, General Mills had been claiming that a box of Cheerios is a powerful drug designed to lower cholesterol, fight heart disease and high blood pressure, when in fact ... it is a breakfast cereal.
This is a strong reminder to consumers that the health claims on food packaging can often be misleading. A varied, balanced diet, with more plants than meat, and fewer processed foods, is the most commonsense diet for most people. Cereal can be a part of that diet, for sure, but we shouldn't think of fortified cereals or processed whole wheats as the solution to our health problems, or the key to losing weight."
Yet another reminder to never underestimate the power of marketing - it is pretty tempting to believe it is actually good for your health when you walk down that massive cereal isle!
What do you think - what cereals are actually healthy and why? I try to avoid them altogether and stick to oatmeal. I get tired of trying to read all the labels and discern the truth behind all the compelling words.
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2 comments:
I totally agree. Those cereal boxes can claim all kinds of things! We gave up boxed cereal a good while ago. Mainly because it was so expensive but also because there are hardly any out there that are actually healthy for you. Because, let's face it, when it comes down to it, any store bought cereal is processed in some way.
Thanks for the comments on my blog. I LOVE the farmer's market. The children always wind up getting handed something for free (last week it was peaches. :) ) I'm freezing all my strawberries this year. I hull them and wash them and then just stick them in gallon sized freezer bags. When they are defrosted they are a little mushy but great for baking or making some kind of syrup-y goodness out of!
I wonder the same thing often. I actually like plain shredded wheat with no frosting, but I do buy the frosted kind for Addison. I figure on the health spectrum from Cocoa Puffs to Wheat Germ Tofu Pancakes it's got to be someplace in the middle. I do get frustrated with the marketing though. I almost picked up a box of Special K, which is supposed to be "healthy" only to find that one serving is a paltry 3/4 cup, and it's nothing but corn flakes, sugar, and some whole wheat. Plus there was only 1 measly gram of fiber which means you'd be ravished in less than an hour.
First it was low fat, then low carb, then whole wheat, and now fiber is all the rage. Maybe next they'll be selling fiber gum.
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