General Mills vs the FDA?

The Food and Drug Administration has “busted” General Mills for the so-called claims made about cholesterol lowering results by eating their breakfast fave “Cheerios.”

I am so old I remember when the label said “CHEERY Os” and there was a cute jingle to accompany their radio commercial. Aren’t you relieved you don’t have to hear me sing that jingle on audio?

Here’s the thing, kids: If people get Cheerios from a food pantry, that’s one thing. People who are given food can’t very well look a gift horse in the mouth. But if you have food stamps from the SNAP program and you use those to buy Cheerios or any other packaged cereal, you are seriously not buying real nutrition. You are BUYING and PAYING FOR processed food products.

YOU WILL DO FAR BETTER IF YOU INVEST THOSE FOOD STAMPS OR YOUR FOOD DOLLARS IN GETTING WHOLE GRAINS THAT YOU PREPARE YOURSELF. IF ORGANIC WHOLE GRAINS ARE AVAILABLE, SO MUCH THE BETTER.

Okay. I have climbed down from my soapbox now and I will speak in more moderate tones. The beef the FDA has with General Mills has much less to do with your cholesterol count and your well being than it does with A/Control and B/Big Medicine. They may carry the name FOOD and Drug Administration but there is much more profit in the drug end of things. But that is a rant, uh, I mean POST for another day.

I am so passionate about this that I created a blog whose sole purpose is to help educate and elucidate those folks who take their food stamps or their hard earned cash and coupons to the store to garner all the bargains possible. People who do what they can to save money are admirable, to be sure, but I promise you that the “foods” available are not always edible nor are they good for you.

You have heard me carry on, railing against artificial sweeteners, msg, and all the toxic soup the food pocessors hide in the food items they want you to buy. They want very much for you to be addicted to food so you will eat more of it, driving their profits up there with Jack and his Beanstalk!

The fact of the matter is that organic whole grains give you all the nutrition possible with no negative side effects. You’ll get the whole complex of B vitamins, good fiber to satisfy your appetite and a breakfast that serves the brain and body well until lunchtime.

The body KNOWS the difference between processed food products, regular food, and organic selections. You can test the strength of your muscle groups by placing a small amount of any whole grain under your tongue and having someone test your grip. Then you can place a tiny amount of any boxed cereal under your tongue and test your strength again. You will always test stronger for a whole grain-unless you happen to be allergic to it.

Many people have never even tasted some whole grains. Quinoa (pronounced KEEN wah) is a good example of that. Well, I can understand why. The last time I priced a pound of it the price tag read, “$7.38″ Is it any wonder people are not using that?

So, my next choices would be barley, which is about as tasty as last Tuesday's chewing gum. BUT when whole barley is added to soups or stews it becomes a food stretcher as it cooks and adds fiber and volume to the concoction.

Another good choice is whole oat groats. Now THAT is one of the best cholesterol reducers in the bunch. You can put a potful of oat groats into the oven overnight in a bath of apple juice, add in a few raisins and your breakfast will be ready to eat as you start your day. Incidentally, I use 1 cup of oats, 2 cups of water and 1 cup of apple juice. I put in a pinch of sea salt and a handful of raisins. Play with this and see how you might like to change that ratio to suit the tastes of your family.

So. That’s what I have to say about THAT.

I'll keep my eye on the comment box to see what YOU have to say! Don't let me down, now.

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Connie Baum