Kudos to General Mills!

General Mills has done something very right - they are apparently now making all their cereals with whole grain. I heard a commercial on TV this weekend. Now, what I don't know, and it makes a big difference is "Are they all 100% whole grain?" (or are some or all part whole grain and part partial grain?)

If, as the ad implies, they are now all 100% whole grain, then people eating their cereals are getting considerably more fiber than they did previously, and that's a very good thing. The flip side of this does however appear in their name..."Mills." Why? What's the matter with mills? Milling a grain makes the endosperm (starch) much more readily available. This raises the glycemic index, making it a much less healthy food for diabetics, and some others. Also, milling tends to change grains from hard and scratchy (or coarse in the mouth) to soft and smooth. This tends to make them pastier in your digestive tract, potentially increasing the likelihood of constipation. Don't get me wrong, from a health point of view, in my opinion, they've one-upped all their big competitors (the health food specialists don't count here).

Now, if they can work towards use of less milled grains, they could move their customers even farther along the road to health.