Breakfast Foods

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 6, 1906

FROM the Scientific American of November 17 we take the following editorial upon the comparative food value of variously prepared breakfast cereals:—

“There is such a bewildering variety of cereal breakfast foods on the market, with such differences in appearance, taste, and claims to nutritive value, that it is hard to make an intelligent choice between them. For that reason the bulletin by Dr. Charles D. Woods and Prof. Harry Snyder recently issued by the Department of Agriculture should prove of interest. True economy here, as with other kinds of food, depends upon the amount of digestible nutrients which can be obtained for a given sum of money.

“Of the five cereals most commonly used for breakfast foods, oats contain perhaps the largest quantities of the important nutrients, with a fairly low proportion of crude fiber. Wheat ranks close to oats in all respects, however, and even when prepared with the bran is freer from crude fiber. Many persons consider that the bran contains so much protein and desirable mineral matters that it should be retained in spite of the crude fiber which it contains. Digestion experiments indicate, however, that the crude fiber makes the whole material so much less digestible that more protein is actually available to the body when the bran is excluded. Moreover, the ordinary mixed diet probably furnishes all the mineral matter which the healthy body needs, so bran is not needed for this purpose. The bran-containing preparations should be avoided by persons of weak digestion, but are often useful in cases of constipation. Such differences are, however, too small to be of importance to normal, healthy persons, and all the ordinary varieties of breakfast cereals are wholesome. Individual taste must determine which are most palatable. Appearance, palatability, and relative cost will always and rightly be important features in the selection of all these cereal breakfast foods. Corn and its preparations are rich in carbohydrates and fat, but are slightly less digestible than the other cereals. Rice is poor in protein, but remarkably free from crude fiber, and consequently furnishes a large proportion of digestible carbohydrates. Barley contains a fair proportion of nutrients, and is moderately digestible. All these differences in composition and digestibility are comparatively slight, and may be disregarded by healthy persons living on the ordinary mixed diet.

“Thoroughness of cooking is a factor which has a bearing upon digestibility. It not only makes the cereals more palatable, but also breaks down the walls of indigestible cellulose which surround the starch granules and other nutrients, and produces other changes, so that the digestive juices can work on the nutritive ingredients more effectively. Poorly cooked cereals are less palatable than the same dishes well cooked, and may cause indigestion and be really harmful. When the partially cooked preparations are used, care should be taken to insure sufficient recooking before serving. The majority of the ready-to-eat brands are apparently thoroughly cooked.

“In choosing between the various breakfast foods it must be remembered that a novel appearance and a quasi-scientific name do not necessarily represent any unusual food value. Unless something is added during the process of manufacture, all brands must have just about the same composition as the cereals from which they are made, as manipulation can not increase the amount of food material, though it may modify its appearance and flavor. As far as the claims to predigestion are concerned, it is safest to assume that in at least the majority of cases the goods do not contain a much larger proportion of soluble—that is, partially digested—starch than any thoroughly cooked cereal. Fortunately, the matter is of little importance to healthy persons, since they are probably better off for doing their own normal work of digestion. If any one is so ill as to need predigested food, he should depend upon the professional advice of a competent physician in selecting it. The predigested and malted cereals should be judged by the same standards as the others.

“It seems fair to conclude that the chemical composition, considered in connection with digestibility and cost, furnishes a satisfactory guide for selection, due attention being paid to palatability and individual preferences.

“All things considered, the cereal breakfast foods as a class are nutritious, convenient, and reasonably economical foods, and worthy of an important place in the diet when judiciously combined with other foods.”