Bottled Water (JOKE!) Are Fruit & Fibre cereals actually good for you?

[MGraham]

I read an article in a local newspaper that claimed Fruit and Fibre cereals were not god for you due to the sodium levels. Is this true?

I want to be having healthy cereals but am sick to the core of museli and weetabix!!!

Advice?

[karmgirl]

I eat fruit and fibre so I hope they are not unhealthy

[Ethel]

There have been reports that Muesli is bad for you, in particular the popular brand Alpen, because of the high levels of sugar.

I am of the firm opinion that there is no such thing as good food and bad food - all food is 'bad' if you don't eat a varied diet.

Swap your breakfast cereals around and have something different a couple of days a week - beans on toast; poached egg on toast perhaps.

Regarding Fruit n Fibre, it is suggested as a healhty alternative to other cereals:

Other breakfast cereals containing 0.3g sodium per serving or less � Frosties, Fruit �n� Fibre, Golden Nuggets, Shreddies, Sultana Bran

http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:KnqzXK3YCp8 J:www.heron.nhs.uk/information%255Cdietetics%2 55Chow_to_eat_less_salt.doc+fruit+n+fibre+sodi um&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=uk&client=firefox-a

Surprisingly All Bran is to be avoided. That's the best news I've heard all day. :)

Put a bit of fresh fruit on your cereal and enjoy your breakfasts.

[theonlyone]

porridge is one of the best breakfasts to have ..
oats don't have any salt or sugar ..

[Totterdown]

Definitely porridge is the best. 1oz porridge, 200ml milk (or milk and water), three minutes in the microwave. Sprinkle little low calorie sugar or top with fruit. No salt. Very healthy and cheap. I have a small cup, so know exactly how much to put in without weighing and measuring each day.

[Ethel]

NOOOOOOOOO!

Not low calorie sugar - it is full of very unhealthy chemicals indeed. Silver Spoon Half Spoon contains aspartame, for example.

Pointless putting that on porridge for a healthy breakfast.

http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/dange rs.htm

[Totterdown]

Your link is scaremongering. The following is an extract from a more up to date website. So many things contain aspartame. It would not be allowed if it was dangerous. Take special note of the E-number paragraph. Get things into perspective.

"Aspartame is used in almost 5000 products around the world, of which more than 2000 are in Europe. Aspartame can be found in a variety of food products including:
Carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, fruit drinks, squashes, iced teas and coffees, hot chocolate drinks.
Yoghurts, dairy desserts and fromage frais.
Chewing gum, sweets, chocolate, breath mints.
Table-top sweeteners: Tablets and spoon-for-spoon powders.
Ice cream and frozen snacks.
Powdered soft drinks, milkshake mixes, and multivitamin drinks.
Cereal mixes, mueslis.
Fruit preserves, canned fruits.
Pharmaceuticals: Effervescent tablets, chewable tablets and sachets.

What is the E-number for aspartame? The E-number for aspartame is E-951. The 'E' before the number indicates that an ingredient has been approved for use within the European Union and the number itself denotes the specific ingredient. An E-number is confirmation that a food ingredient is safe. Rigorous tests must be carried out before an ingredient is granted an E-number and, following their acceptance, ingredients can be reviewed at any time.

The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for aspartame is 40mg per kg of bodyweight. The ADI of a food ingredient is defined as the amount you can eat or drink every day for an entire lifetime without experiencing any adverse effects. Expert panels of scientists review all of the available scientific data on an ingredient and agree on the maximum dietary level that can be safely consumed. This figure is then divided by 100 to reach the ADI. To consume the ADI of aspartame, an average person of 70kg would have to drink just over 5 litres of

[Totterdown]

My earlier message did not finish because I tried to put too much in! Here is the last sentence:

To consume the ADI of aspartame, an average person of 70kg would have to drink just over 5 litres of a drink sweetened only with aspartame.

Obviously we have to be careful, but like lots of things, it is only unwise if consumed in huge amounts. No one is going to put half a jar of sweetener on a bowl of cereal.

[Ethel]

As you say, aspartame is in lots of foodstuffs, so you really have no idea how much you are eating in a day.

I avoid all those products you mention and there is certainly aspartame in the chocolate I eat - I read the labels.

If you are going to eat porridge for health benefits, don't put chemicals on it. It really is as simple as that.

[Totterdown]

Ethel, I think I will go by the website I quoted than yours. Everything in moderation without being a food crank. There are too many food products containing goodness knows what to sit down and read every label. I'll take the advice of the experts who have tested the product you brought to light and continue with what I have always done, just a sprinkling on my porridge.

[Ethel]

I use molasses on my porridge and always have done.

You don't need to buy pre-prepared, prepackaged foods. I'm no food crank, I eat fatty meat but I won't eat anything that needs a chemical laboratory to make it, and that includes margarine.

[Totterdown]

But your argument is that aspartame is a highly dangerous substance. IT IS NOT and has been proved so. No one is trying to make you veer from your chosen style of eating. Just do not come the holier than thou attitude that the rest of us needs some form of councelling because of our 'lack' of knowledge. I've just finished my porridge laden with death producing ingredients. Oh dear, why didn't someone warn me. Think we had better just leave this difference of opinion and get on with our own lives.

[Ethel]

It was you who said artificial sweetener is very healthy - I never said it was very dangerous, merely that it is unhealthy,

Far risk a few calories from natural cane sugar or beet sugar - that is better than chemicals.

[Totterdown]

I did not say artificial sweetener was very healthy. I said porridge was. A small spoonful of sweetener added is not going to kill anyone. Actually it WAS you who intimated that aspartame is dangerous by pointing us in the direction of the website you stated, which started off:

"Aspartame is, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods". This has actually now been disproved. You stick to your beliefs if you want to. I do not wish to continue this pointless argument.

[lorri24601]

you could stir a spoonful of honey in porridge instead of sugar/sugar substitute, thats natural and healthy :-)