The FDA versus Cheeros furor is getting some blogosphere play.
Internist Matthew Mintz analyzes the claim that Cheerios lowers cholesterol by 4 percent. Big deal, he says. “The problem is that even though Cheerios may lower your cholesterol by 4 percent, this probably has no impact on your risk for heart attack or stroke . . . it is clear that to derive benefit you need at least around a 25 percent reduction in bad cholesterol to get any gain.”
So, no, Cheerios is not going to replace your statin drug anytime soon.
Instead, Dr. Mintz advises the FDA to go after more pressing concerns, like faux-medications that are approved as devices, supplements, homeopathic agents, and the infamous electronic cigarette.
