Guest guest Posted August 8, 2002 Report Share Posted August 8, 2002 Francesca said, regarding Total Cereal: >I appreciate your analyzing this for me (and any others)…. Francesca: Please realize that there are many perspectives from which one can analyze something like this. I’ll try to analyze it from more than one point of view. The first ingredient in Total Cereal is whole grain wheat. That’s great, so right off the bat you have chosen one of the best breakfast cereals sold in the supermarket. The next ingredient, sugar, is not so great. However, since apparently there are only 5 g of sugars, they have not added much sugar. They have not clearly disclosed the breakdown of “other carbs, 15 g.” The whole grain brown rice is excellent. Then the next ingredient is corn syrup. Humm. With two types of sugars in the first 5 ingredients, one wonders if there are really only 5 g of sugars in one ¾ C portion. The only way to find out would be to call the company and speak with one of their nutritionists or chemists. Companies like this will usually be very helpful in providing those answers. So the sugar issue remains a question mark at this point. Salt, 190 mg per serving is the next ingredient. I’m not a fan of adding salt to the diet, for reasons I gave in my previous post on this subject. However, 190 mg is not a bucket load of sodium. Lactose, the predominant sugar found in milk, is next. This is a molecule composed of glucose and galactose, bound together. Why did they have to add 3 different types of sugars to this product? They already had sugar, (sucrose, table sugar) as the second item. Some companies will add many types of sugars so they will appear further down in the ingredient list. I don’t think that was the case here. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil just makes me cringe. This contains trans fatty acids, not exactly our preferred fat source for optimal nutrition. However, to be fair, the total fat in the product is 1 g per serving, and whole wheat naturally has some fat in the form of wheat germ oil (not to mention oil from the rice germ), so clearly, only a tiny bit of the PH soybean oil was added. The exact amount added could be found by calling the company. But it obviously is a very tiny amount. Distilled Monoglycerides: A monoglyceride is also known as acylglycerol. I’m sure everyone knows about triglycerides, or triacylglycerol. The distilled monoglycerides are added to emulsify fats, to prevent combined ingredients from separating. BHT, or butylated hydroxytoluene, is a very powerful antioxidant, so indeed, as the box says, it preserves freshness. It specifically was added to prevent the fats/oils in the product from going rancid. While approved by the US FDA, it is banned in some countries due to concern over possible negative health consequences, such as cancer. Another chemical that is used for the same purpose, which you will notice on some packages, is called BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole). Think of BHT and BHA as being used similarly in the food industry. I believe that in Total Cereal, BHT is only added to the packaging material, not the food itself. But of course the cereal touches the packaging material, and if the oils didn’t get exposure to the BHT, they wouldn’t have added it. Do you remember the couple that used to be on TV a lot, Durk and Sandy Shaw. They actually recommended taking BHT by the spoonful !!! (Due to its powerful antioxidant effects). So, obviously this is an additive that some people love and others hate. Regarding the significant amounts of vitamins and minerals, I think it bears repeating that these are not intrinsic to the whole wheat and whole rice in this product. This cereal is not some sort of superfood. No whole grain, whether it be whole wheat, whole oats, whole rye, etc, contains 100 % of the RDA of so many vitamins and minerals in a single ¾ cup portion. So please be very clear that these have been added to the product, just as if you took a vit/min pill that gave you these exact amounts of vitamins and minerals. As I said in my previous post, the concern here is certainly not the vitamins and minerals, whether the amounts can be trusted, and whether or not there would be good absorption. There is no significant problem with the vitamins and minerals in this product. I don’t know how this ever became an issue. Yes, the amounts can be trusted, and unless you have a malabsorption syndrome, absorbing them should not be a significant issue. Of course one can nit-pick regarding using calcium carbonate vs. other types of calcium, or niacinamide vs. niacin, or tocopheryl acetate vs. another form of vitamin E, etc. Certainly this is one of the best cereals sold at the supermarket. Of that, there can be no doubt. However, one must take into account that this is a processed food. Just put some cooked whole wheat berries side by side with the thinly flaked dry cereal, and one can see the vast amount of processing that took place. Eating unprocessed foods is preferable to eating processed foods. I can say that this represents good nutrition, but I can’t say that it represents optimal nutrition. What would represent optimal nutrition and still be somewhat similar to this product? Eating a ¾ cup portion of unprocessed, cooked whole wheat berries (no sugar, salt, etc. added) and taking a vitamin and mineral supplement that provides essentially the same amount of the vitamins and minerals that were added to the Total Cereal. I gave a recipe for this in my last post, one that takes only a few minutes of one’s time the night before you plan on eating it for breakfast. Alternatively, one could eat ¾ cup of unprocessed whole rye berries, whole buckwheat groates, whole oat groates (not the 1 or 5 minute stuff found in the cylindrical boxes at the supermarket), whole triticale berries, whole brown rice, whole barley, etc. These are all available at a good quality health food store, often in the “bulk” section, in large bins. There are also companies such as Arrowhead Mills, that sell unprocessed whole grains in 1-2 pound packages, again typically sold in health food stores. That would represent optimal nutrition. Hope this helps. Bessen rjb112@... __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2002 Report Share Posted August 8, 2002 : the knowledge you have is awesome. You have given me wonderful information with which to make my future choices about Total. I hope you will be posting more often now that we have coaxed you out of " semi-lurkdom " . " Semi " because although you're not a lurker, you certainly you don't post nearly enough. This would help the hundreds of people in the group, not just myself. on 8/8/2002 12:41 AM, rjb at rjb112@... wrote: > Francesca said, regarding Total Cereal: > >> I appreciate your analyzing this for me (and any > others)?. > > Francesca: > > Please realize that there are many perspectives from > which one can analyze something like this. I?ll try > to analyze it from more than one point of view. > > The first ingredient in Total Cereal is whole grain > wheat. That?s great, so right off the bat you have > chosen one of the best breakfast cereals sold in the > supermarket. > > The next ingredient, sugar, is not so great. However, > since apparently there are only 5 g of sugars, they > have not added much sugar. They have not clearly > disclosed the breakdown of ?other carbs, 15 g.? > > The whole grain brown rice is excellent. > > Then the next ingredient is corn syrup. Humm. With > two types of sugars in the first 5 ingredients, one > wonders if there are really only 5 g of sugars in one > ? C portion. The only way to find out would be to > call the company and speak with one of their > nutritionists or chemists. Companies like this will > usually be very helpful in providing those answers. > So the sugar issue remains a question mark at this > point. > > Salt, 190 mg per serving is the next ingredient. > I?m not a fan of adding salt to the diet, for reasons > I gave in my previous post on this subject. However, > 190 mg is not a bucket load of sodium. > > Lactose, the predominant sugar found in milk, is next. > This is a molecule composed of glucose and galactose, > bound together. Why did they have to add 3 different > types of sugars to this product? They already had > sugar, (sucrose, table sugar) as the second item. > Some companies will add many types of sugars so they > will appear further down in the ingredient list. I > don?t think that was the case here. > > Partially hydrogenated soybean oil just makes me > cringe. This contains trans fatty acids, not exactly > our preferred fat source for optimal nutrition. > > However, to be fair, the total fat in the product is 1 > g per serving, and whole wheat naturally has some fat > in the form of wheat germ oil (not to mention oil from > the rice germ), so clearly, only a tiny bit of the PH > soybean oil was added. The exact amount added could > be found by calling the company. But it obviously is > a very tiny amount. > > Distilled Monoglycerides: A monoglyceride is also > known as acylglycerol. I?m sure everyone knows about > triglycerides, or triacylglycerol. The distilled > monoglycerides are added to emulsify fats, to prevent > combined ingredients from separating. > > BHT, or butylated hydroxytoluene, is a very powerful > antioxidant, so indeed, as the box says, it preserves > freshness. It specifically was added to prevent the > fats/oils in the product from going rancid. While > approved by the US FDA, it is banned in some countries > due to concern over possible negative health > consequences, such as cancer. > > Another chemical that is used for the same purpose, > which you will notice on some packages, is called BHA > (butylated hydroxyanisole). Think of BHT and BHA as > being used similarly in the food industry. > > I believe that in Total Cereal, BHT is only added to > the packaging material, not the food itself. But of > course the cereal touches the packaging material, and > if the oils didn?t get exposure to the BHT, they > wouldn?t have added it. > > Do you remember the couple that used to be on TV a > lot, Durk and Sandy Shaw. They actually recommended > taking BHT by the spoonful !!! (Due to its powerful > antioxidant effects). So, obviously this is an > additive that some people love and others hate. > > Regarding the significant amounts of vitamins and > minerals, I think it bears repeating that these are > not intrinsic to the whole wheat and whole rice in > this product. This cereal is not some sort of > superfood. No whole grain, whether it be whole wheat, > whole oats, whole rye, etc, contains 100 % of the RDA > of so many vitamins and minerals in a single ? cup > portion. So please be very clear that these have been > added to the product, just as if you took a vit/min > pill that gave you these exact amounts of vitamins and > minerals. > > As I said in my previous post, the concern here is > certainly not the vitamins and minerals, whether the > amounts can be trusted, and whether or not there would > be good absorption. There is no significant problem > with the vitamins and minerals in this product. I > don?t know how this ever became an issue. Yes, the > amounts can be trusted, and unless you have a > malabsorption syndrome, absorbing them should not be a > significant issue. Of course one can nit-pick > regarding using calcium carbonate vs. other types of > calcium, or niacinamide vs. niacin, or tocopheryl > acetate vs. another form of vitamin E, etc. > > Certainly this is one of the best cereals sold at the > supermarket. Of that, there can be no doubt. > However, one must take into account that this is a > processed food. Just put some cooked whole wheat > berries side by side with the thinly flaked dry > cereal, and one can see the vast amount of processing > that took place. Eating unprocessed foods is > preferable to eating processed foods. > > I can say that this represents good nutrition, but I > can?t say that it represents optimal nutrition. > > What would represent optimal nutrition and still be > somewhat similar to this product? Eating a ? cup > portion of unprocessed, cooked whole wheat berries (no > sugar, salt, etc. added) and taking a vitamin and > mineral supplement that provides essentially the same > amount of the vitamins and minerals that were added to > the Total Cereal. I gave a recipe for this in my last > post, one that takes only a few minutes of one?s time > the night before you plan on eating it for breakfast. > Alternatively, one could eat ? cup of unprocessed > whole rye berries, whole buckwheat groates, whole oat > groates (not the 1 or 5 minute stuff found in the > cylindrical boxes at the supermarket), whole triticale > berries, whole brown rice, whole barley, etc. These > are all available at a good quality health food store, > often in the ?bulk? section, in large bins. There are > also companies such as Arrowhead Mills, that sell > unprocessed whole grains in 1-2 pound packages, again > typically sold in health food stores. That would > represent optimal nutrition. > > Hope this helps. > > Bessen > rjb112@... > > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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