Naturopathic Source

I have seen quite a few commercials on TV  lately for whole grain cereals and whole grain breads. They sound pretty healthy but since I have never seen a commercial on TV for any food product that truly was healthy, I did a Google search and checked out the ingredients. And yes, these products are made with 100% whole grains and that is very good. But the other ingredients make these products not so healthy. The other ingredients I saw were:

1. Sugar as the first ingredient.

2. Corn starch as the second ingredient and then starch as ingredient again later on.

3. Vegetable oil (canola or soy) - not healthy oils and never recommend their use for anything to do with food.

4. Wheat gluten - added as an additional ingredient. Wheat gluten is difficult to digest and this is the protein that causes so many people to have either an allergy or a sensitivity to wheat. The amount in wheat is more than enough on it's own, without adding it additionally.

5. Food colouring.

It doesn't matter is a food product is made with whole grains from the best source in the world; if it also has a lot of sugar, colourings, flavourings or other unhealthy ingredients, it is not that good for you.

For cereal, go to a health food store or the health food section of a grocery store (in the GTA some Loblaws, Fortino's, A&P's and Highland Farms have a great selection of health food items). Cereals I often recommend are Mesa Sunrise, Kamut Krisp or Heritage (Flakes or O's). Although delicious, stay away from granola due to it's high fat and sugar content. If you are good at moderation and portion control, a small amount of granola can be mixed in with the above cereals. The cereals I mentioned above do have some sugar added, but not much.

As far as breads go, everyone likes something different and you will most likely have to try a few before you find one that you like. Veggie Hut and StoneMill make particularly good ones. Dimpflmeier bread is also very good and available everywhere, although dense and most kids don't seem to like it that much. Shasha Bread Company also makes some very good bread and their raisin bread is delicious.

TC