Toxin found in General Mills ‘loaded’ cereal

On February 1, 2024, General Mills, Inc. launched a new breakfast cereal line called “LOADED”. The new range features enlarged cubes of popular cereals – Cinnamon Toast Crisp, Trix and Cocoa Puffs – filled with artificially flavored vanilla cream.

test¹ Moms Across America (MAA) has now revealed that Trix LOADED, the only LOADED cereal included in this preliminary testing, contains aluminum, cadmium, arsenic and lead, in some cases well above the EPA limits for drinking water Allowable content. For example, two Trix LOADED samples contain:

• More than twice the EPA lead allowable level
• Cadmium content 400% higher than EPA allowable value
• Aluminum content 1,365% and 1,650% higher than EPA allowed

As Epoch Times reporter Megan Redshaw pointed out:²

“In 2008, the European Food Safety Authority established a ‘Tolerable Weekly Intake’³ 1 mg of aluminum per kilogram of body weight per week, based on the combined evidence from animal studies evaluating dietary administration of aluminum compounds.

According to EU standards, if a child eats one 40 g serving of Trix LOADED cereal per day, the weekly aluminum consumption based on one sample is 0.98 mg and the weekly aluminum consumption based on the other sample is 0.82 mg.

This is roughly equal to the EU limit, not taking into account other sources of aluminum exposure such as flour, baking soda, pharmaceuticals, processed foods and aluminum pots and pans. “

Toxic pesticides detected

Glyphosate and eight different pesticides were also detected. While most only have trace levels, two of them—piperonyl butoxide-1 (PBO) and fluopyram-1—were found to be present in higher amounts.

PBO is a broad-spectrum fungicide that has been linked to liver problems, endocrine disruption, neurodevelopmental issues and thyroid cancer. The United States classifies it as a “possible human carcinogen” based on animal studies. Glyphosate also has carcinogenic potential. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies it as “possibly” carcinogenic to humans. According to Redshaw:⁴

“Glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide, was found in Trix LOADED grain samples at levels of 15.83 ppb and 17.47 ppb…Studies link glyphosate to a variety of health conditions, including cancer and neurological diseases There is a connection between.

In addition, Monsanto (now Bayer) agreed to pay approximately $11 billion to settle claims from individuals who claimed that Roundup caused non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or other related cancers. As of March, 4,253 cancer lawsuits were pending in California’s Roundup multi-district litigation out of 4,800 originally filed.

researching⁵ Research published by the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health shows that exposure to glyphosate in childhood is associated with liver inflammation and metabolic disorders in adulthood that can lead to liver cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.

Researchers have found high levels of glyphosate residues in the urine of children and teenagers and report that diet is a major source of exposure — as people who eat more grains and carbohydrates have higher levels of glyphosate. Phosphine residues are higher. “

MAA calls on General Mills to clean up its product line

In an email to The Epoch Times, the MAA called on General Mills to source ingredients from suppliers that do not use glyphosate or other chemicals as desiccants and/or pre-harvest herbicides. The MAA also urged the company to:

• Phase out the use of glyphosate as a herbicide within one to two years.
• Test all fertilizers for heavy metal contaminants and switch to using only the safest fertilizers.
• Support and promote regenerative organic farming practices.

MAA Director Zen Honeycutt told The Epoch Times:

“We hope consumers will understand the truth about LOADED cereals and make choices that are healthy for their families. We also hope they [consumers] Their elected officials will be reminded that such foods containing high levels of heavy metals and agricultural chemicals have no place in the U.S. food supply. “

Avoid all processed grains

While heavy metal and pesticide contaminants are certainly reason enough to avoid processed grains, they are not the only contaminants. Various grains are also rich in seed oils and are therefore a major source of linoleic acid (LA), which I believe is probably the biggest contributor to chronic disease in the Western world – far more so than refined sugar.

The main reason why excess LA causes disease is that it prevents mitochondria from functioning properly. I described this process in a 2023 scientific review published in the journal Nutrients,⁶ Co-authored by Christopher D’Adamo.

In summary, mitochondria are subcellular organelles responsible for producing the majority of cellular energy in the form of ATP, without which your cells cannot function properly and repair themselves.

Polyunsaturated fats like LA are easily destroyed by oxygen during oxidation, triggering the production of damaging free radicals. These in turn produce advanced lipid oxidation end products (ALE) and, in the case of omega-6 fats, oxidized linolenic acid metabolite (OXLAM).

These ALEs and OXLAMs cause mitochondrial dysfunction, a hallmark of most chronic diseases. In addition to oxidation, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction, seed oils can also:

Damage to cells lining blood vessels

Causes memory impairment and increases risk of Alzheimer’s disease (canola oil, in particular, has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease)

Deprives the liver of glutathione, thereby reducing your antioxidant defenses

Inhibits delta-6 desaturase (delta-6), an enzyme involved in the conversion of short-chain omega-3 to long-chain omega-3 in the liver

Impair your immune function and increase mortality

Makes your fat cells more sensitive to insulin, leading to insulin resistance

Inhibits cardiolipin, an important fat in the inner mitochondrial membrane

Why Bone Broth Is a Breakfast (and Dinner) Choice

Kellogg’s CEO recently made headlines when he suggested that families struggling with rising food prices should consider having cereal for dinner. Clearly, this has to be one of the worst dietary advice ever given. As Dr. Paul Saladino points out in the video above, it won’t even save you money.

However, while Saladino recommends ground beef as a better choice, I believe there is an even better option: bone broth, which can be used on its own or as a base for soups or stews, or used to cook white rice water. Why?

Because isolated muscle is rich in methionine, tryptophan, and histidine, all of which have been shown to be associated with shortened lifespan. Meanwhile, the amino acids in collagen—glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and alanine—have been linked to improved health and disease prevention.

As one example, glycine plays a variety of key roles in the brain, affecting cognition, mood, and overall neurological function. It is both a neurotransmitter and a neuromodulator in the central nervous system, helping to reduce the excitability of neurons, thereby producing a sedative effect on the brain.

Medical science arguably does us a disservice by classifying glycine and proline as “conditionally essential” rather than “essential.” The rationale is that since the body can synthesize them de novo (from other raw materials), there is no need to emphasize them in our diet.

However, this view misses a key nuance: Your body’s ability to produce these amino acids does not match the levels required for optimal health. In fact, this mismatch makes them critical – these important ingredients must be obtained from our diets to prevent deficiencies and support maximum longevity.

Historically, the consumption of connective tissue was common, primarily through the ingestion of gelatin-rich foods such as frozen desserts and other sources of connective tissue. Gelatin, a processed form of collagen, contains these “conditionally essential” amino acids, which played a more important role in the diet of our ancestors. This eating habit unknowingly supports a balance that modern diets lack.

The reality is that about one-third of your daily protein intake comes from collagen. If you don’t, eventually your body’s structural integrity, joint health, and the myriad processes these amino acids support—from wound healing to maintaining healthy skin and preventing aging-related decline—will be shaken.

So instead of eating beef for breakfast, a better option is to drink some homemade bone broth.

The call to reintroduce connective tissue into our diets is not only a nod to tradition, but also a science-backed approach to restoring aspects of nutrition that are critical to longevity. It’s about redefining what we consider “necessary” in our diet and recognizing that, for optimal health and the longest life possible, we must go beyond the macronutrients and micronutrients recommended by dominant diets.

Simply put, we must ensure that collagen and its key amino acids are not only present in our daily diets, but also abundant. Red meat is fine if you balance your red meat and collagen intake, but eating muscle alone can be problematic. To learn more about this, see Why Collagen is a Proven Essential.

Easy Ways to Make Bone Broth

The best source of collagen is homemade bone broth, which you can whip up over four hours using a pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot. Simply place the bones in the Instant Pot, cover the bones with purified filtered water, add salt and other spices to taste, then set it to high to cook for two hours (if the bones are CAFO) or if they are organic and grass-fed Cook for four hours.

Organic grass fed beef bones are the best. Using bones from CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) beef can be problematic due to potential heavy metal contamination. When cooking these bones in a pressure cooker, it’s best to limit the time to two hours to avoid introducing heavy metals into the broth.

If you are using beef bones from a grass-fed, organic source, you can safely cook them for four hours. If you are using chicken, it is even more important to use bones from organic sources, as CAFO chicken tends to produce a stock that does not gel,⁷ This calls into question the quality of the collagen you are getting.

When preparing bone broth at home, it’s important to cool it before eating so the fat floats to the top and you can skim it off. While some beef fat is good, excess can be problematic.

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