Magnetic food: Metal Bits in YOUR Cereal! Yummy!

I recently saw a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ahlawrQHeA
where it was demostrated that some iron-enriched foods actually contain enough metallic elemental iron to be magnetic. I wanted to see more of this, so I did the experiment myself, and sure enough - even the cereal I had for breakfast that morning was magnetic!

In this video, you'll see floating magnetic Bran Flakes, a free-standing magnetic Bran Flake demonstration, and finally, the actual magnetic iron material bits extracted from the cereal and shown under 100x magnification.

This sort of iron looks similar to the kind of black iron you would collect by passing a strong magnet through ordinary soil. After a bit of reseach, it turns out that this metallic "reduced iron" will dissolve in your stomach's hydrochloric acid, at least to some degree, and can then be then absorbed into your bloodstream for bodily processes, although not as efficiently as iron compounds such as ferrous fumarate, iron sulfate, "chelated" iron/amino acid compounds, or colloidal iron found naturally in plants/non-processed foods.

So why THIS type of iron in cereal? Well apparently, ionic types of iron such iron sulfate (usually seen in vitamin pills, etc.) can actually speed-up spoilage of food, where metallic (elemental) iron is less likely to.

More interesting stuff:

A quote from an iron ore mine (manufactuerer) press release in Peru:

"Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) is a high-quality iron product created through the removal of oxygen (reduction) from iron oxide material, in solid state (without melting). Reduction is achieved when a reducing gas (typically hydrogen and carbon monoxide) is passed through the iron oxide feed material at a temperature between 900 degrees and 970 degrees C. Direct Reduction Iron is commonly used in an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) to produce steel, instead of, or in combination with, scrap iron."

Some more interesting reading on this subject:

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7407526/description.html
(reduced iron US patent)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_reduced_iron
(Wikipedia)

http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/081020/0444422.html
(Iron ore supplier in Peru, full press release)

The soundtrack is "A New Age" from the "Digital Dreaming" CD by Technician (yours truly), album and single track available on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/digital-dreaming/id416815761 full artist discography and CDs available at HTTP://technician.jcmdi.com

Bon appetit!

Note: This is copyrighted material, however, you may download this footage directly from YouTube and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial YouTube videos. The full free usage policy, and copyright notice/claim and partner ad info can be found here:
http://jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#freeusage and
http://jcmdi.com/stockfootage/faq.html#partner
(please read both sections before using JCMDI material - Thanks!)

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• metal
• bits
• filings
• morning
• breakfast
• cereal
• food
• iron
• enriched
• fortified
• bran
• flakes
• corn
• wheat
• total
• microscope
• experiment
• demo
• reduced
• magnetic
• magnet
• technician
• jcmdi.com
• santa
• clarita
• california
• JCMDI
• science
• study
• info
• weird
• facts
• collecting
• particles
• chunks
• tooth
• teeth
• wear
• DRI
• processed
• manufactured
• man-made
• Walmart
• wal-mart
• great
• value
• generic

[fructmals]

I have hemochromatosis, I have the genes that make me store iron, this cereal would definitely build up in my liver,heart, thyroid, pancreas or pituitary. The serum ferritin levels was taken out of cbc many years ago. People just get sicker. Hemachromatosis is not so rare. one in two hundred have it. you could have it.

[jcmegabyte]

I haven't heard of that one before, and I'm surprised that it is so common :-O As I understand it, this form of iron is more difficult to break down and absorb than other dietary types, but if one is particularly sensitive to iron it would probably be best to avoid it at all... Thanks for watching and commenting!

[PtAltmVansanTarr]

Isn't this due to the iron in the cereal, similar to iron supplements.

[jcmegabyte]

Actually, the iron used in most supplements is chemically combined with other elements to help make it more digestable. This type of iron is more like the type you would find in ordinary soil, although it is a bit more coarse than the tiny colloidal particles plants can normally absorb. The whole science or iron absorbption is quite fascinating :-)

[wavepsychic]

When "Scientists" want to know what's in the food they break it down first then study it. Big mistake. Plants take Iron atoms and structure it into a bio-grade molecule. Ground Iron or reduced Iron is not the same thing as Iron based nutrients. You HAVE to eat whole foods if you want to be healthy.

[jcmegabyte]

It is interesting that I couldn't find much in the way dissolution and absorbption info for this (or any other) type of iron... They do seem to think that a certain amount of it does dissolve in the stomach's hydrochloric acid, and once dissolved, should be usable by the body. It does make one wonder just how much, though. Coloidal iron (as found in plants) is best, followed more easily absorbed iron compounds (which aren't used due to food spoilage issues). It's fascinating stuff... :-/

[MrLiquid7]

Ironman's food

[veeniecase]

@mofine4eva .. Der , do you think I'm a dummy , I do know we need more than just Iron to give us other nutrients , I was just taken aback at the amount of Iron pulled from that small amount of cereal which is processed food . Our fore fathers never had the diseases that exist in todays society . CANCER , DIABITIES & MANY OTHERS That we never had before food was processed . Farmers & families on the land were healthier . They ate off the land ... That's where I had meant my focused comment

[ozcabal]

I have just done this test in Australia ! Kellogg's Fruity loops ! Same thing ! What I intend to do however is confirm if the loop is becoming magnetized due to the metals in the water!

[spystyle]

I confirmed this test is VALID

I tested Honey Buzzers by Malt-O-Meal and ferrous iron was inside.

SADNESS as I ate this cereal often before I knew better :(

[Theguido177]

I WANT CEREAL!

[LtBartram]

Our body uses iron but doesn't destroy it, we need it to live. So why make a big deal about it this way?

[Makileesmommy]

@veeniecase except the life expectancy was at least a third of what it is today.

[Scoobydoo1193]

Thumbs up if your eating cereal while watching this video :)

[circusoflife]

iron makes our blood red...color of the devil

[circusoflife]

gosh..thought id seen it all...thxs!

[PYates77]

@veeniecase Processed food is not the (only?) cause of these diseases. Some reasons that diseases such as cancer and diabetes is more present in today's society than in previous societies are:

1. People didn't live as long, so there was a smaller chance of noticing these diseases.

2. If you had one of these diseases, you died a lot faster.

3. The technology for diagnosing these diseases was not developed.

Also, people were not necessarily healthier, as you imply, know about the bubonic plague?

[alph8c]

I prefer to get my iron from organic sources. Thank you.