Punam Patel February 22, 2011 Nutrition 302 All the money, friends, or fame in the world cant

compare to a healthy life style. Even if you have everything at the tip of your fingers, none of this matters if youre not healthy enough to enjoy it. One way to ensure good health is by making sure your cholesterol levels are properly maintained. A simple way to control cholesterol levels is by eating the cereal, cheerios. Cheerios makes the claim it can lower your cholesterol by 4% within 6 weeks, which has been approved by the American Heart Association. A study similar to one conducted by cheerios proves that when [oats] consumed as part of a dietary program for weight loss, whole-grain oat cereal lowered LDL cholesterol levels in men and women with hypercholesterolemia and overweight( ). Eating cheerios alone will not lower your cholesterol. A healthy diet, one that is low in saturated fat is required along with cardiovascular exercise. Not only will exercise help with lowering bad low density lipoprotein cholesterol, but also increases high density lipoprotein good cholesterol. Disclaimer for this product is it may not work for many individuals and that is not because the claim is untruthful, but rather individual genetic traits. Science is based on genetics; it will have a positive effect on some and no effect on others. Three major sources of liver cholesterol can be controlled by blocking de novo synthesis. Another is from extrahepatic tissue and lastly from diet. Out of the three, a person can only control one, amount of dietary cholesterol intake. By eating cheerios a person is controlling cholesterol synthesis. This is done by decreasing Low Lipoprotein Density LDL cholesterol uptake into the blood. This is done by soluble fiber. Cheerios is made from whole grain oats. It has been proposed that a meal containing soluble fiber increase the viscosity of stomach and intestinal contents, which have been showed to reduce absorption/ reabsorption of cholesterol and bile acids, thus lowering blood cholesterol concentration. ( ) One particular type of soluble fiber in whole grain oats is beta-glucans (1/3,1/4 structural arrangement) . Too much cholesterol can build up in a persons arteries and put them at risk for heart disease. Three grams of soluble fiber is the minimum amount of soluble fiber required to reduce cholesterol. Therefore, three cups of cheerios each containing 1 gram of fiber is required daily for the claim to be accepted. Soluble fiber also helps with preventing constipation, hemorrhoids, and diverticulosis. One thing that Cheerios the company fails to mention in advertisements is the fact a minimum of 3grams of soluble fiber is required to have a positive effect on lowering cholesterol. One cup of cheerios only contains one gram of soluble fiber. Companies try to hide certain information from consumers to ensure safety of the claim, however sometimes this hurts the company more than helping them, because it leads to customer dissatisfaction due to dishonesty. If Cheerios put the claim that a minimum of 3 cups of cereal is required, consumers will be reassured that it will actually lower cholesterol. Heart disease is one of the most severe illnesses in this generation, however majority of the cases diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia are preventable. One in three American adults has some form of heart disease according to the American Heart Association. You could be one of the three, take your first step now to prevent heart disease. Something as minuscule as

changing your breakfast food can help you live a happier and healthier life. Live, love, cheerios.

References

Cheerios. (2011). lowering cholesterol. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from cheerios : http://www.cheerios.com/forAdults/cholesterol/LoweringCholesterol.aspx

Cockrell, A. (2008, October 24). can cheerios really save your life? Retrieved February 21, 2011, from http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/2008/Cheerios.htm Brown, L., Rosner, b., Sacks, F., & Willett, W. (1999). Cholesterol-lowering effects of dietary fiber: a meta-analysis. The Americal Journal of Clinical Nutrition , 30-42.

Maki, K., Beiseigel, J., Gugger, C., Reeves, M., Jonnalagadda, S., Farmer, M., et al. (2010). whole grain RTE oat cereal, as part of a dietary program for weight loss, reduces LDL cholesterol in adults with overweight and obesity more than a dietary program including lowfiber contrrol foods. American Dietetic Association , 204-214.

Notes regarding the claims evaluation and the flyer. 1. I couldnt add the reference for the flyer picture, because my friend helped me make it and I couldnt go back in and put the reference in there. I dont have photoshop. 2. I tried to find the science aspect of why beta-glucans structure helps with lowering cholesterol but could not find it. ( I found about 5 articles that explained different studies, but none explained the science behind it) 3. The flyer is simple and bright to attract age +65.