Cereals Claim To Support Immunity, But Is It True?

It's written in big bold print at the bottom of the box -- Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies "now helps supports your child's immunity." Certainly welcome news to parents who are trying to find any way to protect their children from germs, including H1N1. But has the cereal maker gone too far?

Some critics some yes.

Kellogg increased the level of antioxidant vitamins A, B, C, and E in their line of cereals, including Rice Krispies, from 10 percent of daily value to 25 percent of daily value. But is that likely to prevent your child from getting sick? Probably not.

Joan Salge Blake, a registered dietitian and nutrition professor at Boston University says those vitamins are important for a healthy immune system, but you don't need to get them from fortified cereals. "For example, a cup of orange juice can give you six times the amount of vitamin C," Salge Blake explains. "And a carrot will give you 16 times the amount of vitamin A, and an ounce of almonds will give you 1 1/2 times the amount of vitamin E that's in a serving of that cereal," she says.

And Salge Blake says just because a cereal claims to enhance the immune system doesn't mean it's any better than other cereals out there. "Don't assume that a cereal box doesn't make that claim that it's inferior," Salge Blake says, "It may have other added benefits as having whole grain and higher in fiber."

A spokesperson for Kellogg says the vitamin-enhanced cereal has been in development for over a year and that is was rolled out in May 2009. They say it "was not created to capitalize on the current H1N1 flu situation."

That said, several complaints, including one from the city of San Francisco, have been filed with the Food and Drug Administration but so far, there's no word on whether they will take action.

In the meantime, when buying cereal for your child, instead of focusing on the vitamin additives, look for one that has whole grains, high fiber content and one that's low in sugar.



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