Random Question

[pro§pect]

Is special K considered a good food or bad?

[ChrisJ]

It's not great, but it's not as bad as the majority of cerals out there.

[Ba'sini'on]

Ingredients:

Rice, wheat gluten, sugar, defatted wheat germ, contains 2% or less of salt, whey, malt flavoring, calcium caseinate.

Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), reduced iron, vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin A palmitate, folic acid, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), niacinamide, vitamin B12.

 

Not very appetizing, also the process to make flattened flakes is even worse!

 

"Whole grains that have been processed by high heat and pressure to produce puffed wheat, oats and rice are actually quite toxic and have caused rapid death in test animals. We do not recommend rice cakes, a popular snack food. Breakfast cereals that have been slurried and extruded at high temperatures and pressures to make little flakes and shapes should also be avoided. Most, if not all, nutrients are destroyed during processing, and they are very difficult to digest. Studies show that these extruded whole grain preparations can have even more adverse effects on the blood sugar than refined sugar and white flour! The process leaves phytic acid intact but destroys phytase, an enzyme that breaks down some of the phytic acid in the digestive tract." (Nourishing Traditions, 25)

 

If you can find it, go for cereals that are not processed and have ingredients you can actually read! Alternatives are Oat Groats, or oats that aren't rolled. You can also make your own cereal, I have a recipe if you want it.

[iatetheyeti]

...of course I see this just after I've had a bowl of it for breakfast.

 

Heh, I knew they weren't fantastic, but that little 'tradition' is kind of unpleasant to read about. How cereal is made has never actually crossed my mind before. Don't think I've ever read the ingredients list on a box either. Since starting to clean up my diet I've gone for Special K or the cheap home brand equivalent, though knowing this now it'll be a case of finishing up the current box and not buying a new one.

[Shereads]

My Granola cereal recipe comes from 100 days real food. It takes the kids who will eat it and me about 2 weeks to eat it.

My brains asploded I cant get teh link to post. Go look it up. It is way better for you to have a bowl of this than factory manufactured cereal. My kids with texture issues refuse to eat it but love the smell of the kitchen when I cook it up.

[Guest CyborgNinja]

You'll get a range of opinions on that topic with everyone from people who eat it 3 meals a day to people who say the company owners should be executed, all of them insisting that their opinion is THE correct opinion.

 

I say to do this:

1. Wait until you get hungry

2. Ask yourself what it is you're hungry for
3. If it's special K, eat a little bit of it - like 1 cup worth.
4. Wait and watch 

 

If after step 4 you feel good and healthy, it might not be that bad for you. If you feel a little crappier than you did before, odds are it's probably not that good for you.

 

Ultimately nobody on earth really knows, though they may have opinions.

[Evicious]

...of course I see this just after I've had a bowl of it for breakfast.

 

Heh, I knew they weren't fantastic, but that little 'tradition' is kind of unpleasant to read about. How cereal is made has never actually crossed my mind before. Don't think I've ever read the ingredients list on a box either. Since starting to clean up my diet I've gone for Special K or the cheap home brand equivalent, though knowing this now it'll be a case of finishing up the current box and not buying a new one.

 

This is an old Discovery Channel "How It's Made" episode, but still pretty informative. It gives no opinion of how good or bad breakfast cereal may or may not be for you, just shows you how the product is made - I enjoy it for the simple awe and joy of modern engineering that the Western world takes for granted on a daily basis.

 

How It's Made - Cereal

[iatetheyeti]

This is an old Discovery Channel "How It's Made" episode, but still pretty informative. It gives no opinion of how good or bad breakfast cereal may or may not be for you, just shows you how the product is made - I enjoy it for the simple awe and joy of modern engineering that the Western world takes for granted on a daily basis.

 

How It's Made - Cereal

 

Cheers for the link, it definitely answered the question. Though after watching that I don't think I'll be eat a cereal bar again. That looked... unpleasant. To say the least.

[pro§pect]

Okay, thanks for the info guys and gals