Plaque is the stuff of coronary heart disease. It is CONTROLLABLE, it is STOPPABLE, it is REVERSIBLE.
But you must be equipped with the right information on diet, nutritional supplements, and hopefully the avoidance of medication.
This is the blog that accompanies the 
Followers of The Heart Scan Blog know my feelings about Cheerios:
There’s an interesting tussle going on between the makers of Cheerios, General Mills, and the FDA.
The FDA says that the Cheerios’ package claims of:
• “you can Lower Your Cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks”
• “Did you know that in just 6 weeks Cheerios can reduce bad cholesterol by an average of 4 percent? Cheerios is … clinically proven to lower cholesterol. A clinical study showed that eating two 1 1/2 cup servings daily of Cheerios cereal reduced bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.”
constitute a medical claim, i.e., trying to promote Cheerios as a drug.
I’m glad that the FDA has come down on General Mills. But I find this entire episode laughable: The debate is over the purported health benefits of what I would regard as pure junk food, no better in my view than claiming that a cupcake has health benefits, or a carton of ice cream.
In my experience, Cheerios does not 1) reduce risk for heart disease, nor 2) reduce cholesterol.
It does, however, cause blood sugar to skyrocket and increase the small type of LDL–you know, the type that causes heart disease.
Change your life in 60 seconds
I would say that Cheerios are neither food nor drug. I bet they make great compost though.
I agree with Stephen. Doc wanted my cholesterol down, so I did the low fat diet which included Cheerios. Cholesterol came down 20 points. Doc was elated but wanted it lower , so I really hit the Cheerios. Cholesterol went up 120 points and my triglycerides were up 300 points to 450. Doc was not happy but probably was elated that he had a reason to hand me the Lipitor prescription. I refused because I thought my numbers were due to a bad test, after a lot of research, I now eat low carb. Cholesterol total now in the 180 range and triglycerides are around 80. Fasting blood sugar has now dropped about 10 points, its now under 100. Dr Davis, thanks for a wonderful informative Blog.
Gayle
Does anyone have a link to the “clinical study” that purports to support the claims made by Cheerios? I certainly can’t find it on their website.
Where did General Mills ever get the idea that there was something in Cheerios that would lower cholesterol? Fiber? I don’t get what they’re latching onto that’s supposedly healthy about cheerios?
Sue, if you go back to Dr. Davis’s blog entry for Monday, April 21, 2008, you’ll find out more. I dug around a little and left a comment about the origins of the study and the companies behind the journal that published it.
Opinions on Cheerios aside, when something like this happens it makes me realize how vulnerable we are to advertising. It seems like the general population should know enough about cholesterol and their health that a cereal should not have this kind of influence. It can be as simple as reading a couple of knowledgeable health sources and watching what you eat.
The report on CBS re Cheerios vs FDA presented a doctor who said that it was scientifically proved that Cheerios lowers cholesterol … a blatant piece of irresponsible ignorance or wanton lying … you pick!
@Susan,
Sorry, I should have checked the link to the April 2008 post before I asked!
But it appears that the “study” itself isn’t available for review. What a surprise!
It’s entirely plausible that eating Cheerios works better than eating even worse crap.
In exactly the same way that eating Whole Grains is marginally better than eating highly refined grains.
Then the message gets perverted by advertising executives from something being slightly less bad to actually being good.
I wouldn’t even put them in the compost, can you imagine worms with bad lipids?
Yeah, I feed my compost worms far better than Cheerios, though I did unintentionally kill a whole bin full not long ago with very fermented steel cut oats.
Don’t worry, if they were fermented enough the worms died happy (grins)
One of my bins is currently offline, bumble bees are nesting in it. I’d sooner eat them than Cheerios
The Food and Drug Administration says in a warning letter to General Mills that language on the Cheerios box suggests the cereal is designed to prevent or treat heart disease.
The creativity of your blogs is best.This is something very best on your part.Providing information in the best possible manner is your best attribute.I love when you share your views through the best articles.Keep sharing and posting articles like these.This article has helped me a lot.Keep posting this stuff.
I'm glad that the FDA has come down on General Mills. But I find this entire episode laughable: The debate is over the purported health benefits of what I would regard as pure junk food, no better in my view than claiming that a cupcake has health benefits, or a carton of ice cream.
I completely agree with you. Directions on how to take medication is required in prescription.