Tomorrow I Will Be

Sleeping In

Is a blanket statement a cover up?

I had some Trader Joe's Raisin Bran for breakfast. It wasn't organic. I knew because the raisins were easy to eat, and they didn't get stuck on my teeth.

That conclusion is based on incomplete data. It looks and sounds like a fact, but it is not. It would be enough for Fox news to report, but they just make blatant, blanket statements, and their audience accepts this as the real story.

For one thing, I had my teeth cleaned and polished yesterday, nothing sticks on them today. That eliminates the raisin theory.

Let's read the box.

No Organic Labeling

No Organically Certified
Ingredients

This Looks Natural

These are good ingredients.

Note the absence of, "Colors", preservatives, sweeteners, and, "Flavors".

Colors are either made in the lab, or from crushed cactus beetles.
FDA approved, "natural flavor", is made in a lab. (Usually, it's MSG)

Artificial Vitamins

I picked Pyridoxine Hydrochloride from the list of stuff added to the Raisin Bran.

Pyridoxine;

The best dietary sources of pyridoxine include meats, bananas, lima beans, egg yolks, peanuts, and whole-grain cereals.

Hydrochloride;
A compound of hydrochloric acid with a base; distinguished from a chloride, where only chlorine unites with the base.


I am not seeing FDA certified organic in the vitamin and mineral package.

My dad wrote textbooks for, "Organic Chemistry", but that is another subject.


How to add vitamins and minerals;
From Building a Better Breakfast Cereal
Vitamin pre-mixes are typically used in cereal manufacturing. "Vitamins and minerals are best added to RTE cereals at different points in the process, depending upon the stability of the nutrient," says Audra Davies, director of product development, nutritional ingredients division, Watson Foods Co., Inc., West Haven, CT. The minerals and the more stable vitamins - such as niacin and riboflavin - are typically added to the basic formula mix. Heat-labile nutrients are typically sprayed on at the end of the manufacturing stage to ensure recovery and stability throughout the process, Davies says. Thiamine (vitamin B1), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and vitamin A are extremely sensitive to heat degradation. Besides heat, other factors that can accelerate degradation of some vitamins include: exposure to light, oxygen, metal ions and enzymes.

How they get iron in your cereal.
Iron in Cereal Video

So there you have it.

I hope you can understand what your Rice Crispies are telling you now.

I liked the taste of the Trader Joe's raisin bran, and I will probably finish the box, (not).

Can You See Jerry?

The big sandstorm as seen from space on 7/5/09.


Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;
Gettin' There - Mose Allison

Getting Healthy