Hot Wheat Cereal Nutritional Information
Malt-O-Meal® Creamy Hot Wheat Cereal contains iron - 60% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) - and is fortified with calcium.
Iron: Helps red blood cells carry oxygen for peak physical and mental performance
Calcium: Helps build strong bones
Iron helps make up hemoglobin and myoglobin, which carry oxygen in our blood and muscles. It's a mineral essential to humans, and many of us don't get enough of it in our diets. Malt-O-Meal Hot Wheat Cereals contain 60% of the recommended adult dietary allowance of iron.
Insufficient iron can cause people to become anemic. While full-blown anemia is a fairly rare disease, partial iron deficiency (also called iron deficiency anemia) is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world.
If you're experiencing fatigue, lethargy, shortness of breath, headache, or dizziness, you may have decreased iron stores. Because many conditions could cause you to feel tired or lethargic, simply taking an iron supplement isn't enough - you might consider speaking to your health care provider if symptoms persist.
You may need more iron than you realize if you or members of your family are:
- Menstruating, especially if you have heavy periods
- Pregnant or post-partum
- Infants, particularly those who are not breast-fed
- Toddlers between the ages of one and four (milk is a very poor source of iron, and children who drink a lot of milk at the expense of other foods may develop a condition called milk anemia)
- Adolescents, because they grow so fast and often have erratic eating habits
- Athletes, whose demanding workouts may damage red blood cells
- Strict vegetarians (animal products contain the most bio-available form of iron)
- Experiencing loss of blood, such as bleeding lesions, in your gastrointestinal tract
- Frequent blood donors
- Unable to absorb iron efficiently due to intestinal surgery or other conditions.
Calcium We have more calcium in our bodies than any other mineral, and most of it is found in our bones. We need a constant supply of calcium throughout our lifetimes, and because bones are living structures that need it to develop and stay strong, calcium is especially important to growing children, pregnant and lactating women, and older women.
The amount of calcium we consume as children is crucial because we're building our "bone bank" to store the mineral for later in life. And in the U.S., experts* say, children don't get anywhere near the amount of calcium they need. Instead of dairy, they're consuming sodas - and carbonated drinks actually leech the calcium out of growing bones.
Calcium deficiency can increase the risk of such bone disorders as osteoporosis, which may not manifest itself until we are older - but the problem begins when we fail to get enough calcium as children and young adults. Why should you be sure you get enough calcium? It helps your body:
- Build and maintain bones and teeth
- Clot blood and heal wounds
- Control blood pressure and release neurotransmitters
- Produce enzymes and hormones that regulate digestion, energy, and fat metabolism
- Maintain all cells and connective tissues
- Reduce the incidence of premature heart disease
- Keep teeth and gums healthy by resisting tooth decay and preventing gum disease.
Dairy products are good sources of calcium, but if you're lactose-intolerant, you can get an adequate supply of the mineral from dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, broccoli), canned fish and mollusks (especially sardines, clams, oysters, and salmon), cooked dried beans and peas, and fortified grains such as those found in Malt-O-Meal Hot Wheat Cereals.. Malt-O-Meal Hot Wheat Cereal with half a cup of skim milk provides 25% of the calcium recommended for a person on a 2,000-calorie per day diet.