One such misleader is General Mills, as you’ve no doubt seen the bold headlines on their boxes of Cheerios and their Honey Nut variety claiming to “lower your cholesterol four percent in six weeks.”

This is tantamount to that Jared Fogle guy from those old Subway commercials telling the world that they, too, could lose weight by eating subs every day.

Right.

While I’m no fan of the Food and Drug Administration, I like to give credit where credit is due, and the FDA has called out General Mills on this.  In a warning letter to the company, the FDA asked that General Mills alter their wording on boxes of Cheerios because it suggests that eating Cheerios serves as a preventable treatment in lowering cholesterol levels.

Further, the FDA objects to the fact that Cheerios markets itself as the only thing one needs to consider in reducing cholesterol levels.  As we know, a high fiber diet plays a big role in reducing cholesterol levels, and for Cheerios to make such claims without noting this is regrettable (they’re required to list something like “as part of a high-fiber diet that’s rich in fruits in vegetables”).

Some may consider this to be a bunch of colored bubbles, that the FDA is making a mountain out of a mole hill.  I disagree.  Words matter and Cheerios wouldn’t be emblazoning these words on their boxes if it didn’t move product (as it happens, Cheerios is the number one sold cereal on the U.S. market today).

General Mills and the FDA remain in negotiations on altering the wording of their health claims so that they’re more precise.  A good thing, indeed.
Now I don’t want to come off sounding like a prude, tearing the “Cheer” out of Cheerios.  I admit that Cheerios is a much better option than other cereals on the market, so millions of Americans aren’t necessarily choosing a terrible cereal to eat.  But if America really likes its Cheerios – and $1.4 billion worth of Cheerios sold last year says they do – why not opt for a more pure option?

Purely O’s is every bit as good as Cheerios, only their product is void of the modified corn starch Cheerios is rife with.  Made by Cascadian Farms, Purely O’s first three ingredients are organic whole grain oats, organic whole grain barley, and organic whole grain wheat starch.  By comparison, Cheerios’ first three ingredients are oats (non-organic), corn starch, and sugar.

And as we know, the ingredients highest on the list of any food product are the ones that makeup the brunt of the ingredients.

Cheerios isn’t the worst thing in the world to eat, but why not eat something that’s far better for you – and tastes the same – for just a dollar more?

And when it comes to long-term health, paying an extra dollar is pretty darn cheap.

Sources
cascadianfarm.com
cheerios.com
msnbc.com