Dry Cereal ( Whole Grain) Enthusiasts Live Forever

A press release issued by the American Heart Association last week began with this:

"Eating whole-grain breakfast cereals seven or more times per week was associated with a lower risk of heart failure, according to an analysis of the observational Physicians’ Health Study.  Researchers presented findings of the study today at the American Heart Association’s 47^th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.  For the present study, breakfast cereals that contain at least 25 percent oat or bran content were classified as whole-grain cereals.

The analysis shows that those who ate a whole-grain breakfast cereal seven or more times per week were less likely (by 28 percent) to develop heart failure over the course of the study than those who never ate such cereal.  The risk of heart failure decreased by 22 percent in those who ate a whole-grain breakfast cereal from two to six times per week and by 14 percent in those who ate a whole-grain breakfast cereal up to once per week."

Eating cereal "seven or more" times a week? What an appalling thought.  Are we polling college students?( On the other hand, my grandfather apparently ate oatmeal just about every day of his long life.) Isn't there something equine about  folks diving down into big bowls of dry crunchies and cold milk ?  OK, not the milk part.

..."breakfast cereals that contain at least 25 percent oat or bran content were classified as whole-grain cereals. "   Only 1/4 of the cereal contained whole grains? Way at the bottom of the relase it states this:  "In the

United States

, foods considered “whole grain” contain 51 percent or more whole-grain ingredients by weight per reference amount customarily consumed."  ???

..."than those who never ate such cereal. " Huh? What about those who eat whole grain breads or rolls or tortillas or muffins or pancakes for breakfast? 

I have looked around the Internets a bit to try to discover if one of the giant cereal companies could have funded this study, maybe one of the companies with a big stake in oat or bran. So I went to Cheerios.com and right here, to their credit, they do discuss the whole grains we all should be eating and where to find them beyond the cereal box.

Just curious,  I typed  sugar and sugars and sugar content in the website Search box . I got back  "your search for sugar returned no results."  I recall reading once that Cheerios had about 2-3% sugar content, while Capn Crunch and/or Sugar Smacks were well over 50 % in sugar content.

However they are doing it, the Cheerios people certainly seem to have cornered the baby market, ( and maybe also the 7 day plus adult cereal eaters, who knows? )  I seldom encounter a baby or toddler these days who does not have a Cheerio lodged  in his ear or stuck in the wale of her overalls. Those tiny o's appear to attract tiny fingers on most of the highchair trays of America.

Comments

[Jusy]

I eat cereal more often dry as a snack than as a meal. There are a few medium to high fiber ones that have a little sweetness, sort of a nutty flavor and are crunchy. Someone who eats cereal for breakfast and as a snack may eat cereal more than 7 times a week.

[foodie]

Ah, I get it. Thanks!