Is Cheerios A Medicine??

I just read that the FDA are slapping the makers of Cheerios on the proverbial wrist for making advertising claims about the reduction of cholesterol. My overall reaction to this news is that this is probably a good thing, since with the cost of health care these days, I have a vision of everyone with a cholesterol problem rushing out to stock up on Cheerios rather than going to the doctor, taking some serious cholesterol medicine or even starting a proper nutritional program.

However, on reflection I realized that perhaps my reaction should be a bit more complicated than that. The positive thing about Cheerios claiming to help reduce cholesterol is that at least it is a step in the right direction when it comes to how America consumes breakfast. With 40 million people in this country qualifying as obese, and another 20 million or so being categorized as over weight, we could sure do with some help. My guess is that the vast majority of Americans eat more than a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast, with many of them tucking into large portions of bacon, eggs and pancakes. The upshot of this is that if the makers of Cheerios - motivated obviously by self-interest all the way - can get even a few of these people to start eating cereal for breakfast rather than a high fat or fried option, then we might start to see a decline in the average weight of American adults.

I think that we need some 'everyday' solutions to the myriad of health problems that we are all starting to experience due to our less than healthy lifestyles, but are tending to ignore because we can't afford to sign up for outrageously expensive monthly prescriptions. I have personally had quite a lot of luck taking natural remedies for some every day health problems - anyone heard of taking nettles for allergies? I would not dare to go as far as to say that a bowl of Cheerios even falls into the same camp as a natural medicine/remedy, but it might be a small step in the right direction We certainly need a few of those......