Protein Cheerios: Miracle or Misleading?

bodbuds
Aug 20, 2014
4 min read

Dear Body Buds,

I was wandering the grocery store the other night as I often do, looking for products that might possibly be able to work as a recommendation for me to give to all of you—once in a blue moon, I find something. More often than not, I come across a product that makes me roll my eyes and mutter under my breath about how STUPID these companies are. Their advertising and marketing is genius in the way that it increases the bottom line—unfortunately, at the expense of the health of our population.

With the importance of protein becoming more widely known, the average American might look at this newest box of Cheerios and get excited! Hooray! Cheerios that are even better for me than the original (thanks to the marketing of General Mills, most people know Cheerios contribute to helping lower cholesterol—well duhhhhh . . . that’s because they’re made of OATS. OATS are what decrease cholesterol, NOT Cheerios.)

Let’s take a look at the nutrition label and break down the components of the label that you, my Body Buds, need to understand as you seek to find answers for yourselves. I will be happy to share with you my thoughts, and then leave you to formulate your own conclusion.

Serving Size:

1 ¼ c. Cheerios is one serving size? Okay, that’s interesting because it seems (according to the box) that we add ½ c. skim milk to this—those ratios seem to be way off—looks like they skimped on the portion sizes in order to get numbers more appealing . . . but what typical American is measuring their cereal and milk anyway?

Calories:

210 calories for just the carb portion of a meal? (You’ll see in a moment why we can’t classify these “protein cheerios” as a P + C . . . Cheerios only fulfill the C for a PVC meal—and 210 calories is VERY high for just one macro category component). I don’t believe in cutting the fat from our dairy products either as there are fillers and more sugar added to help them taste good—so General Mill’s suggestion of adding ½ cup Skim Milk is so out of my realm of thinking even remotely “good” for someone that I’m trying hard to wipe the look of utter disgust off my face.

Protein:

7 grams of protein per serving. WHAT? Any follower of the PFL will know this is a pathetic number of protein! We should be striving to get 15-30 grams of protein per meal we eat—which at 6 meals per day, will put us anywhere from 100-180 grams in a day. 7 grams is not enough protein for you to feel full and satisfied, nor to support the blood sugar influx which will result from the carbs and sugar you’ll read more about below.

Carbohydrates:

With 42 grams of carbs in one serving size, this would be fine for a maintenance level of PVC meal for fairly active individuals (remember: we breaks down each meal’s macronutrients by “peak ranges” as described in The Power Foods Lifestyle. Our peak range for carbohydrates is anywhere from 25-40 grams for each PVC meal. As you can see, this number is fairly high for this range. A higher amount of carbs with the sugar information you’ll learn in a few paragraphs, is enough for me personally to say, ummmm no thanks.

Fat:

With a total amount of fat at 3 grams, this is fine for breakfast as we generally want our first meal of the day to be a PVC (protein, veggie, carb meal--no F for ‘fat’). This helps our bodies and brains get the glucose they need without causing too much conflict in the digestive system by placing a myriad of fat in there as well. We can see that 2/3 of the fat comes from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats—our good fats. This leaves 1/3 of the fat coming from saturated fat, which is not a bad fat—just a fat to more closely monitor and keep in moderate intake amounts.

Sugar:

17 grams of sugar in one serving? Sure, that’s a lot less than a piece of cake with extra frosting—but that amount of sugar is far above what our bodies need. I like people who are serious about fixing their health and changing their lifestyle to strive to keep each component of food they eat to 5 grams of sugar or less. Too much sugar will cause your blood sugar levels to rise, which will then send them plummeting 1-2 hours later. Resultantly, your body will crave more sugar to help those levels rise again. You can listen to more about blood sugar and how the food we eat impacts our sugar cravings in the "Overcoming Sugar Cravings" podcast episode.

All in all, I hope that my analysis of this label helps you understand my opinion on Protein Cheerios. It’s mockery. It’s an attempt to prey on America for a greater profit margin. It’s bold marketing. (Heck, I could sell dirt and call it “Protein Dirt!” --I wonder if people would buy it?)

Please be the informed consumers I hope you will stand up and become. The Power Food Lifestyle principles should help guide you as you continue seeking to become a student of the PFL.

As for me? I’ll be making a Breakfast that is balanced beautifully in Protein, Carbs, and Veggies from the Power Foods Lifestyle Recipe Book, Volume I – don’t forget to check out Body Buddies World where you can be a member and view ALL PFL recipes to print from your computer!)

Love your bud,