Image by Marion Nestle
In its warning letter, the FDA says that if Cheerios lowers cholesterol, it is claiming to work like a statin drug. If Cheerios acts like a drug, it has to be treated like a drug. Cheerios, says the FDA, "is not generally recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease. Therefore...it may not be legally marketed with the above claims in the United States without an approved new drug application."
So what's going on here? I collect cereal boxes and I'm guessing that I bought the one shown here at least two years ago. The boxes have changed since then but similar claims appear on the Cheerios website. Maybe in this new administration the FDA can get a grip on silly and misleading health claims. Let's hope.
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Every morning when I pour my kids' cereal, I'm aggravated by this, mainly because a 4% reduction isn't much. If your cholesterol is 250, knocking it down to 240 is a pretty trivial reduction, not enough to get off cholesterol medication or significantly alter your heart disease risk.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that this is being pursued by the FDA because General Mills attached a percentage in cholesterol reduction to their claim. I guess they would have had to perform bona fide clinical drug trials in order to offer a definitive number like that. It's still pretty silly. The FDA is basically saying that you can make all the vague and misleading health claims you want so long as there aren't any numbers involved. They aren't really addressing the bigger issue of specious promises made in order to sell these foods.
A serving of Cheerios contains 15.3mg of niacin.
Nicotinic acid (niacin) is one of the oldest cholesterol drugs in use... in dosages of 1-3 grams per day.
So, if you eat 75 bowls of Cheerios a day, you might get that nifty niacin effect.
You collect cereal boxes?
I am continually baffled at the health claims of endless products across the span of the grocery store isles. If I were to calculate the amount of time I spend comparing labels and reading ingredients (never mind with the health claims) I've probably spent a half a year standing around in the isles. Somewhere else I read about the set up of the isles themselves and what they contain, that there's one section for fruits and veggies. Then isles and isles of canned, boxed, bagged, and frozen food stuff with varying levels of junk food scattered throughout. And by junk food I mean, just plain bad for you. Then on the far side of the store is the dairy and deli with the meat counter almost always at the back. I'm a little off the point here, but what I'm getting at is that I pretty much skip the entire center section of the store! (minus those yummy Fritos....) I know what the labels say and I just can't believe any of it, just not a chance. The cereal isle is incredible, like amazing, wow, even fantastic. I could loose 10 pounds, drop my cholesterol, increase my heart health, fix my intestinal flora, stave off a cold with antioxidants, the list goes on! Oh and that doesn't even get to the dairy isle with it's yogurts... Famous people hawking the benefits of yogurt? Well, duh, it's always been good for you. However! I just wish yogurt would be sweetened with natural juices... there can be upwards of five (5) different sweeteners, not to mention fake sweeteners! Whatever for? I don't need that much sugar in such a little container. I've resorted to plain yogurt and fillings of my choice! And that's so much the point! All these health claims, but is anyone taking the time to read the rest of the box or to come up with healthier alternatives? I'm all for the FDA doing what it can and finally getting to the bottom of this nonsense, which seems to have spiraled a bit out of control. I am lucky to have figured all this out a very long time ago, back in my teens. To me, it seems so simple, better ingredients, simple labeling and education. I hope the FDA doesn't stop at cereal.