The food industry’s advertising marketers are very creative with their campaigns. They know how to market “food” as natural and (if not better than) healthy. If they put words like, “healthy” and “natural” on their products it must be true, right?
Well your family’s favorite honey nut bowl of cereal is about to be exposed for what it is really made of.
Protein Cheerios, Oats & Honey ingredient list :
whole grain oats, cluster (whole grain oats, brown sugar, soy protein, lentils, sugar, corn syrup, natural flavor, molasses, rice starch, caramel (sugar, caramelized sugar syrup), salt, calcium carbonate, baking soda, color added, bht added to preserve freshness), sugar, corn starch, honey, salt, refiner’s syrup, tripotassium phosphate, rice bran and/or canola oil, color added, natural flavor, brown sugar, vitamin e (mixed tocopherols), bht added to preserve freshness. vitamins and minerals: calcium carbonate, zinc and iron (minerals nutrients), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), vitamin b1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin a (palmitate), a b vitamin (folic acid), vitamin b12, vitamin d3.
Cheerios: The Awful Truth About America’s Favorite Cereal
Natural Oats
General Mills boasts about their use of natural oats in Cheerios. The first ingredient isn’t even oats (remember, ingredients are listed in order by weight of the ingredient) in seven out of the twelve Cheerios varieties currently sold in the U.S.
Trisodium phosphate
One of the ingredients Cheerios are made from is a chemical called Trisodium phosphate. Have you ever heard of this ingredient? According to Wikipedia, Trisodium phosphate was found to be ecologically damaging. It is still being sold and used in the USA as a cleaning agent, enema (laxative) and food additive. Toilet bowl tablets use this ingredient in most brands on the market. It also used for many other cleaning purposes, from cleaning your driveway to washing your clothing. If that’s not scary enough, Trisodium phosphate isn’t recommended for cleaning your house. It is known to stain the metal of your faucets and even damage the grout around your tile.
Corn Starch
The second ingredient is corn starch. There is a great chance that this is coming from genetically modified sources, as today corn is one of the top 3 genetically modified crops grown. Not much in the way of nutritional value either.
Sugar
The third ingredient- would you be shocked to know its sugar? Sugar should not be in the top five ingredients of any foods your purchasing. Refined sugar consumption damages health much more than we realize. It suppresses immunity and causes weight gain.
Research has linked sugar consumption to numerous health conditions, including:
• Premature aging
• Various cancers — breast, ovary, prostate, rectum, etc.
• Diabetes
• Digestive problems, including chronic indigestion
• Fatigue and low energy
• Heart disease
• Hyperactivity and concentration problems
• Loss of muscle mass
• Nutritional deficiencies, including decreased ability to absorb calcium and magnesium
• Osteoporosis
• Tooth decay and gum disease
• Yeast infections
Monoglycerides are single fatty acids attached to a glycerol molecule. Basically, they are modified fats, which are used to combine ingredients, such as oil and water. According to VRG.org, the commercial source may be either animal (cow- or hog-derived) or vegetable, and they may be synthetically made as well.
Tocopherols are a series of organic compounds consisting of various methylated phenols. They are mainly used to preserve food, especially oils from going rancid and usually have vitamin E activity.
Foods with Added Vitamins
To supplement a diet, food that have vitamins and mineral additives may seem like a healthy boost, but it turns out that the added nutrients can be especially harmful to young children, pregnant women and senior citizens.
A new report from the Environmental Working Group studied breakfast cereals and snack bars and found that more than 140 of them are causing harm to consumers because of the over-fortification.
These excessively fortified foods are causing nearly half of American children (ages eight and under) to consume potentially dangerous amounts of Vitamin B3 (niacin), Vitamin A (retinol) and Zinc.
Food manufacturers’ misleading marketing tactics and outdated nutritional labeling guidelines can lead children to consuming the potentially dangerous foods, the EWG research found:
“Heavily fortified foods may sound like a good thing, but it when it comes to children and pregnant women, excessive exposure to high nutrient levels could actually cause short or long-term health problems,” Renee Sharp, EWG’s research director and co-author of the report, said in a news release.
“Manufacturers use vitamin and mineral fortification to sell their products, adding amounts in excess of what people need and more than might be prudent for young children to consume.” Processed sugars, salt, and oils increase inflammation, which increases the risk of heart disease. Cheerios markets their cereal to suggest it is of all things, healthy for your heart. After reading these ingredients, how could this be true. A chemically, GMO, created sugar coated cereal. May I suggest you look into companies and products that are certified organic and/or at least GMO free for example, to offer at your breakfast table? Your heart and family will thank you for making this informed choice.
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