[Sheila53]

I don't usually post here so this may have been mentioned before. Since whole grains are such a big part of a nutritious diet, it seems like everyone is getting on the bandwagon. I was watching TV the other day and saw General Mills touting their cereals as having "whole grains." They were including things like Golden Grahams, Lucky Charms, etc. I have heard that "whole grain" foods are going to be able to get some kind of government-approved sticker to put on their package, and I'm wondering if these General Mills cereals, which are not whole grains IMHO will be sporting these stickers.

Has anyone else seen these commercials? What do you think?

[funniegrrl]

I've heard about these "new improved" cereals but have not heard about the stickers, or seen the commercials.

A quick look at the nutrition labels for these cereals is more than enough to see that the profile is not significantly better. It's smoke and mirrors, and a disservice to the public.

[teckeygirl]

I think the problem is.. if it includes whole grains they can label it... not if it includes them and doesnt include anything else bad for you. Yes those things have a lot of sugar in them. But a cup of Lucky Charms or Golden Grahams has less sugar and more sodium than a cup of Raisin Bran, so its all relative isnt it?

Companies are notorious for labelling things to appear to be more appealing nutritiously... like all the "0 trans fat" on packages now that still have tons of other fats. Last year it was carbs. Stuff had "0 net carbs" labels on foods that were ALREADY low carb before this craze.

The problem is, you can't say "only the products that are healthy are allowed to put positive nutritional advertisements on their boxes". Think of the things that have a lot of calcium. Arent they allowed to say so even if the product also has a lot of fat and caloriesas well?

To me, the products can say what they want. I always look at the nutritional information on the package anyways. It won't change how I shop or what I buy. The truth is its not all about one particular nutrient or another its about everything together. I take into account calories, fat, fiber, calcium, iron....

[Suzanne 3FC]

The way I understand it, the goverment guidelines say a serving must contain 16 grams of whole grains to be considered "an excellent source of whole grains", while foods with 8 to 15 grams would be considered "a good source..." So General Mills is going after the higher standard.

General Mills has stated that they will not be changing the sugar content, so I agree with the rest of you that it's just a gimmick.

[Amarantha2]

But if they are adding more fiber by adding more "whole grains" (which I think they already did), then at least it's an improvement and/or a step in the right direction ... not that I know if they've added more fiber, just wondering. Even with the same amount of sugar, additional fiber will improve the food, IMO.

[QuilterInVA]

Actually the raisin bran is much better for you - more fiber and the sugar is from the raisins.