That old standby just may be different than what you thought! Aaaargh!
After being exposed to very high temperatures and very high pressure, the grains that go into almost all of the major brands you see on the supermarket store shelves are not only unhealthy, they’re poisonous.
Even the whole grains in the “healthier” cereals you get from the health food store go through this same process.
Here’s how it works:
The machine that makes ALL cold breakfast cereals is called an extruder, which takes a slurry of grain and water and forces it through tiny openings that create the little O’s, flakes, or whatever trendy shapes the manufacturers dream up.
After being shaped, the cereal is sprayed with a coat of oil and sugar to give the cereal its signature “crunch” before going soggy in your morning breakfast bowl.
That may sound innocent enough, but here’s the problem: The extrusion process destroys the nutrients in the grains, especially the proteins. It even wipes out the synthetic vitamins the manufacturers add to make the cereal appear more nutritious.
And when the protein is destroyed, what you have left is a toxin.
Three Studies:
That may explain the disturbing results of these two little-known studies: In his book “Fighting the Food Giants,” biochemist Paul Stitt talks about an experiment carried out by one of the big food manufacturers in 1942.1 Needless to say, after the results were revealed the study was locked away and never discussed again.
In the study, mice were divided into four groups:
- Group one received plain whole wheat grains, water and synthetic vitamins and minerals.
- Group two received puffed wheat processed through an extruder, water and the same nutrient solution.
- Group three received water and white sugar.
- Group four received nothing but water and synthetic nutrients.
You would expect groups three and four to be the worst, right? Obviously, the mice existing on sugar and water, or just water and synthetic nutrients would die first, right? It didn’t work out that way.
Group two, the mice who ate the puffed wheat, ALL died before ANY of the mice in group three or four died. In fact, the mice in group two were all dead within two weeks. The mice that had just sugar and water lived for a whole month. By chance or by fate, the molecular structure of the proteins inside the grain are similar to a known toxin. And when the protein is “mutated” from the processing, it becomes toxic.
That’s why these poor mice only lasted a few weeks.
Another study from 1960 was conducted at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. These mice were divided into three groups:
- Group one received cornflakes and water.
- Group two were fed the cardboard box that the cornflakes came in, and water.
- Group three received rat chow and water.
I think you can guess what happened here… the mice that ate only the cardboard box outlived the mice eating the cornflakes! Even more revealing, the mice that ate the cornflakes showed signs of violent behavior. They threw fits, were anxious and agitated and eventually went into convulsions.
After the study, an autopsy revealed these mice had damage to their pancreas, liver and kidneys. What’s more, they suffered degeneration of the nerves along their spine, all signs of insulin shock. The startling conclusion revealed there was more nourishment in the box than in the cornflakes!
Sure, these studies were conducted on mice, but we can clearly see that the poisonous, mutated grains took a terrible toll.
Why the Mystery?
If you’re wondering why you’ve never heard of this before, or why the effects of processed cereals are not being studied in more depth, consider this: The grains inside a typical box of cereal cost about a penny. Yet the cereal sells for 3, 4 maybe even 5 dollars a box at your local grocery store. That means breakfast cereal may have the highest mark up, and therefore the highest profit margin of anything on the market today. In that light, it’s clear why these manufacturers have NO INTEREST in letting you know what their “healthy, all natural” cereals are really doing to your family.
So instead of reaching for that box of cereal every morning, put your focus on protein. Eating protein first thing in the morning accelerates your metabolism throughout the day. But make sure you get your protein from healthy sources: Low-fat dairy, cheese, unsweetened Greek yogurt, fish, lean meats (a portion of lean meat is the size and thickness of the palm of your hand), and vegetables… and yes, vegetables contain protein!
And don’t be shy about eating fish or lean meats for breakfast. The Japanese start every morning with fish and miso soup! It may seem strange at first, but when you’re sailing through your morning with energy, clarity and focus, you’ll understand why.
It’s also helpful to keep around unsweetened, pure whey protein to add to shakes for a quick protein boost. To kick it up a notch, flavor with cherry, blueberry or pomegranate concentrate. You can also mix this with ground flax seed or chia seeds, for a delicious and perfect breakfast.
- Paul A. Stitt, Fighting the Food Giants, Manitowoc, WI: Natural Press, 1993.