I’m not sure if this one is a trick or a treat.
You may have heard the news a couple of weeks ago that General
Mills will start using whole grain in cereal products for kids. Over
the next three months, Lucky Charms, Trix and other cereals will
be converted from processed flour to whole grain. Meanwhile, a
number of other General Mills’ cereals, such as Wheaties and
Cheerios, have already made the whole grain switch.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? And that’s the way this announcement
was uniformly received by the media: Great News!
But while reports have implied that these cereals will be quite a bit
healthier, you have to ask: Healthier? Maybe. But healthy? Lucky
Charms? I don’t think we’ve arrived anywhere near “healthy” just
yet.
But here’s the question that really needs answering: Does this new
whole grain actually qualify as genuine whole grain?
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The “whole” megillah
————————————————————
In a USA Today article about the new whole grain, on toward the
very bottom of the article, there’s a reference to the “technology”
behind General Mills’ cereal changes. It seems that the whole grain
won’t be EXACTLY whole as we currently know it. It will be
made of flour that’s processed with a newly developed milling
method that grinds the whole grain into particles of uniform size.
Hmm. Doesn’t sound quite “whole” to me.
In August, a company called ConAgra (the second largest food
processing company in the U.S.) announced the development of
Ultragrain, which appears to be similar to the new whole grain that
General Mills is using. Ultragrain is designed to be used in any
type of product that calls for flour: bread, pizza, pasta, crackers,
cereal, etc. The primary selling point is that it’s just as healthy as
whole grain, but has the look, texture and flavor of processed
grain. According to an Associated Press report, Ultragrain
produces a slice of white bread that’s purported to be just as
healthy as a slice of genuine whole wheat bread.
USA Today states that General Mills executives would not discuss
the new technology behind the development of their new type of
whole grain. So what’s the big secret? They’re asking us to accept
their word that it’s healthier, but they’re not giving us specific
details.
In fact, this new milling technology is so cutting edge that the only
information I’ve been able to find consists of glowing reports
about how it will transform the bread industry. Most of these
reports appear to be little more than rewritten press releases.
And so far no one is asking any hard questions. Such as: How did
they manage to make a completely different whole grain that’s just
as healthy as whole grain? Or: Have trials been conduced to make
sure there are no health risks?
————————————————————
Whole is as whole does
————————————————————
I asked HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., if he’d heard anything
about this bread “breakthrough,” and he confirmed that not much
is known about it so far. But he did have this insightful take on it:
“Whole grains are missing one huge factor where refined grains
are clearly superior, and that’s shelf life. I don’t see the ‘big boys’
ever giving that up – it’s just too much money down the drain
throwing out food that’s gone bad too early. So, yes, I smell a rat
(though at this point I can’t prove it). Something fishy is going on
here.”
One of the fishiest things about the claims for the new cereal
products is that they’ll be healthier.
Have you seen a bowl of Trix lately? The colors are practically
iridescent. So you can be sure there are plenty of artificial colors
added. Preservatives? Absolutely. Trans fatty acids? You bet.
Sugar? Oh my yes: 13 grams per cup!
In other words, we’re quite a long way from health food here. And
swapping refined flour for a new type of whole grain that mimics
the qualities of refined flour provides a pretty thin assurance that
we’re moving in a healthy direction.
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Overweight is one thing. Obesity is quite another.
When I sent you the e-Alert “Sugar Shock” (9/28/04), I told you
about a UK scheme to address the growing epidemic of obesity:
Give tax breaks to people who purchase sports and exercise
equipment.
Frankly, I find this idea foolish. I don’t believe a modest tax break
will inspire an obese person to change his lifestyle and become a
daily exerciser.
In response, I received an e-mail from an HSI member named
Kimberly who felt I was being insensitive about obese people.
Kimberly writes:
“I am overweight I know it I try to lose I eat my veggies and
take my vitamins but I still have to do 2-3 times as much exercise
to maintain my weight and not gain than someone who is ‘Fit and
Healthy’. My health is very good, my blood pressure is not high,
no diabetes or hyperglycemia (yes, I have had my A1c checked) so
when I read in a publication I like to think is right in the face of
mainstream thinking on pharmaceuticals well it hurts just a bit
when I read and I quote
” ‘If obese people were in the least bit inclined to do any type of
exercisethen they would be fit and healthy instead of obese.’
“WRONG! This simply IS NOT the case for thousands of
overweight, or as you like to say ‘obese’ people. I am inclined to
do ANY kind of exercise, I like to get out there and move. I have a
2 and a 3 year old, and there is no time to eat a huge meal. Who
sits and watches 2 hours of TV afterward when you are off chasing
and playing with your kids? I exercise at least 30-45 mins EVERY
DAY!
“Let’s try not to put all obese people in the same category as lazy
slobs who do nothing but sit around, eat and watch hours upon
hours of TV before falling asleep in their own potato chip
crumbles.”
I completely sympathize with Kimberly. Like her and millions of
others, I struggle to maintain a proper weight. But Kimberly is
under the impression that when I use the word “obese,” I’m
referring to anyone who’s overweight, and that’s not the case at all.
By Kimberly’s own admission, she’s carrying too much weight.
But if she gets 30 to 45 minutes of exercise every day, then she’s
probably healthier than those who don’t have weight problems but
don’t exercise.
So being overweight is not necessarily a problem – it’s more like a
warning that something needs to be done. But being obese is a
crisis. From several sources, I found these definitions of obesity:
* Excessively fat
* Extremely corpulent
* Grossly overweight
I’ve got a hunch that none of those definitions describes Kimberly.
In her e-mail, Kimberly adds this suggestion: “So, let’s find a
study out there in regards to people who exercise but seem more
inclined to gain instead no matter what they do. I am sure that there
a lot of people out there just like me who don’t eat junk, who do
some sort of exercise every day and still the weight does not fall
off. Have there been studies marking what kind of health these
types of people are in?”
Good question. I don’t know of any such studies, but I’ll keep an
eye out, and I’ll also ask the HSI team to be on the lookout for this
type of research.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
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Sources:
“General Mills Cereals Go Totally Whole Grain” Bruce Horovitz,
USA Today, 9/30/04, usatoday.com
“New Flour Offers Nutrition of Whole Grain, Texture of White”
Joe Ruff, The Associated Press, 8/12/04, thestate.com