Cheerios...good or bad for you??

Let me walk you through my thinking.  I'm 7 months out from RNY.  I am down to my goal weight (alittle below it actually).  I am adding more carbs and all my tests are normal.  I eat plain Cheerios with a mixture of nuts and fruit and other cereals.  I get all my protein and veggies and vitamins in also.  But I am wondering, since Cheerios are good for my heart and cholestrol could they be bad for my absorbtion of what is needed so much in my body?  When I eat Cherrios, is it like useing a large amount of a lipid reducer, and could it be taking away what I need to be absorbing?  Thoughts...I'll post this on both the Main Forum and the Men's Forum...Brian in Turlock, CA

While I am sure there are the scientific types out there that can break this down into more detail than I could ever desire to delve into,...Cheerios is Oats and Oats is good, and that is why it has the impact on cholestrol it does.  As long as you are not into the honey nut Cheerios and the suger content,.. I can't imagine Cheerios being bad from an absorbtion standpoint.  cheerios are also a form of ruffage that is good for the bowels.  You could be eating far worst stuff. I'd say good job, your concern is good for it speaks volumes as to your new mental alertness to eating healthy,..you rascal you.  So much progress and in 7 months too.

Sounds healthy to me. It is only one meal a day, right? It's not like you're eating it together with the protein, I suppose. That would probably be impossible, so I doubt that they are soaking up anything more than the milk. The oats and fruit sound really healthy!

 

Dave

I eat a small bowl of Cheerios almost every morning. The only problem I see with them is the salt content. I "do" have to watch my salt intake because I have a heart problem so I have to watch what I eat the rest of the day. Before my surgery I tried to keep my salt consumption below  600mg a day. After surgery when they wanted me to eat just soup broth it was almost impossible to keep the salt intake below 2000mg. Then they wanted you to eat 6 small meals a day. I had to cut it down to 3 meals.....besides I just like to eat them Dave

Hi Brian, it really depends on how your body processes sugar.  When I was diabetic, Cheerios would spike my sugar.  I would go from 110 to 240-250 on the sugar reading.  But maybe that's just me.  Assuming that impact is normal regardless of whether someone is diabetic or not (meaning that Cheerios raises blood sugar), this will raise your insulin level and thus cause you to gain weight.  If you are able to manage that, I think you are fine as long as you get everything else in.  If you find yourself gaining back some weight, ditch the cheerios fast.

Brian, I have a handful of Multi-grain Cheerios stirred into some SF Yogurt about once a week. I love ‘em. Soluble fiber in the oats are good for striping the "bad" cholesterol. There are certainly higher fiber cereals out there, and I use those too, but if you like the Cheerios and they seem to work for you? I’ve heard nothing about soluble fiber interfering with absorption of other nutrients. Oats tend to slow the passing of food through the digestive system without constipating. Not the "Colon-Leaf-Blower" effect that some foods have. Soluble fiber "regulates" digestion. Best Wishes- Dx