Posts Tagged ‘cereal’

Celiac disease is on the rise. The reason seems to be that you are never too old to get celiac disease.

Celiac Surprise

Researches were surprised to find the incidence of celiac disease rising among seniors.

It doesn’t take rocket science to realize the consumption of gluten, a protein found in barley, rye and wheat would drive the growth of celiac disease.  Meaning that cereal grain has become part of almost every meal, manufactures use it as pellets, fillers, and are on the breakfast, lunch, dinner plates in one form or another. Wheat is passed off as wholesome even when stripped of all nutrients. This happens all the time in processed food advertisements.

Celiac Statistics

Celiac disease has doubled in America every 15 years. A common misconception is that gluten intolerance only develops in childhood. This is not the case.

In 1974 it was 1 in 501; in a 2003 study the incidence had risen to 1 in every 133 people. Many people haven’t been tested that have celiac disease.

Perspective

Perspective matters, because the real way to manage this condition is to be able to identify it. Most people are never tested for celiac disease. Celiac disease can mimic other conditions, and have symptoms that are different from the ones listed below. Digestive disturbances are blamed on almost anything. Celiac disease isn’t usually one of them. Since abdominal discomfort, indigestion, cramps, and fatigue are common symptoms this is a condition that is usually missed.  But, if your diet is making you sick, and damaging your intestines than this has to change.

Individual symptoms such as diarrhea, stomach cramps, intestinal bloating, weight loss, irritability, joint pain, depression, and fatigue are just part of the picture. This condition has more serious undertones. Patients may not absorb nutrients, and this puts them at risk for a whole host of serious conditions. After awhile the small intestine is damaged.

Elderly people are twice as likely to develop the disease. What may make the difference is that a life time of exposure to grains finally takes its toll. As more chronic conditions show up in the population at large we can be assured that they are lifestyle related. Milled wheat is in most food products. With the current trends in packaged foods celiac disease will develop into another chronic health problem for Americans.

Ready to eat cereal isn’t breakfast food even though it is marketed as such. Have a hearty breakfast seems to mean open, pour, and down it in about 90 seconds.. Mainstream diets are loaded with calories striped of any measure of nutrition. Having a hearty breakfast means to some people means apple cinnamon, fruity, and sugary.

Consumers who enjoy these should be impressed with the variety. Many of these brands claim that it is proven that their cereals have health benefits. Many boast that they have 50% less sugar, are cholesterol free, low fat and a good source of vitamins

Ironically, artificial or chemical renditions of vitamins have been implicated in causing more harm than good. According to a story in The New Your Times July 23, sugary cereals are still being promoted on TV as a healthy breakfast food.

Another trend is what I call “thing” rather than food. It is promoted as a real egg product. The word product says it all. It is made from egg whites without the yolks to cut out the fat and cholesterol. Flavors and colorings are added to make the things look and taste more like the real deal.

The message is that you can mill, cut, shape it and come up with a totally innovative way to promote it, but it can never be quite like fresh food. However, it will create impressive profit margins. 

Nearly all processed food sabotages your health. Fruits and vegetables aren’t shelf stable. Produce doesn’t last even in the refrigerator for an extended period of time. Americans may be throwing out more than they consume. As processed food retailers and manufacturers sales increases; fruits and vegetables are not lined up for any growth in sales. Despite the baby-carrot $25 million advertising campaign and other initiatives we haven’t seen any real growth in mass market appeal.

Cereal isn’t a meal by any stretch of the imagination. It may be rich in sugar, sodium, calories, and the wrong fats, but it meets no ones dietary needs. What is relevant is these manufactured products replace the whole foods in your diet.

Fruits and vegetables are a breakfast, lunch, and dinner food. Just pair it with some good protein and fats and you are ready to go.

Health Claims Running Rampant

The advancement of technology has given impetus to the marketing machine of major food manufactures. Their health claims are running rampant.

False Health Claims

Following a second action in 12 months by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for making false claims about a product, the leading cereal maker Kellogg has agreed to new advertising restriction.

They said the company has agreed to expand a settlement order reached after the Commission alleged that the cereal maker has falsely claimed there was clinical evidence that its Frosted Mini-Wheat Cereal improved children’s attentiveness by nearly 20 per cent.

Could it be the trans fats, sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, or sodium, that provides such a boost. Wow, all the kids in American should be real attentive.

Trans Fats

Food manufactures use trans fats in products to optimize taste, appearance, texture and shelf life. These fats are formed when liquid oils are made into solid fats like shortening and margarine during a process known as hydrogenation.

Kellogg defends their use of trans fats by saying trans fat is similar to saturated fat because it has also been found to raise low-density lipoprotein, or “bad” cholesterol, which can increase your risk of coronary heart disease.

What they left out is crucial: The trans fat molecule is different from the saturated fat molecule.

(1) Saturated fatty acids raise HDL cholesterol, the so-called good cholesterol, whereas the trans fatty acids lower HDL cholesterol;

(2) Saturated fatty acids lower the blood levels of the atherogenic lipoprotein [a], whereas trans fatty acids raise the blood levels of lipoprotein [a];

(3) Saturated fatty acids conserve the good omega-3 fatty acids, whereas trans fatty acids cause the tissues to lose these omega-3 fatty acids;

(4) Saturated fatty acids do not inhibit insulin binding, whereas trans fatty acids do inhibit insulin binding;

(5) Saturated fatty acids do not increase C-reactive protein, but trans fatty acids do increase C-reactive protein causing arterial inflammation;

(6) saturated fatty acids are the normal fatty acids made by the body, and they do not interfere with enzyme functions such as the delta-6-desaturase, whereas trans fatty acids are not made by the body, and they interfere with many enzyme functions such as delta-6-desaturase; and

(7) Some saturated fatty acids are used by the body to fight viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, and they support the immune system, whereas trans fatty acids interfere with the function of the immune system.

This is from the Ban Trans Fats website.

Another Problem

Food manufactures can list no trans fats on their label and still use it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in this case the fake disappearing agenda; guidelines specify that percentages should be rounded up if over 0.5 grams per serving or down if under. If the amount of tras fats is less than half a gram(0.5) per serving, FDA labeling guidelines state that the Nutrition Facts label must show the total amount of trans fats per serving as zero grams (0 grams).

This amounts to 1/20 of a teaspoon of trans fat per serving. What’s the problem with this? One serving is stated to be a cup, how many kids snack on sweet cereals and go over a cup. If you have a diet of packaged foods and they all claim no trans fat, you can be ingesting a good amount.

Now for kids the issue is this will be for a lifetime, add it up, and they will be consuming too much trans fats.

Last But Not Least

 The label ingredients from the strawberry Mini-Frosted Wheats

WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, SUGAR, STRAWBERRY FLAVORED CRUNCHLETS (SUGAR, CORN CEREAL, CORN SYRUP, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL, CITRIC ACID, GLYCERIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, RED #40, BLUE #2), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL STRAWBERRY AND CREME FLAVOR, SORBITOL, GELATIN, REDUCED IRON, NIACINAMIDE, ZINC OXIDE, RED #40, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), FOLIC ACID, BLUE #1, AND VITAMIN B12. TO MAINTAIN QUALITY, BHT HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE PACKAGING.

Make better decisions, these are empty claims, and a marketing campaign that seems like pure baloney.