Need a good source of calcium? I gave my husband a bag of Cookie Monster Cookies for his birthday. It was a gag gift (a long story we don't need to go into here). But this is the real gag: there's a splashy notice on the front of the package, claiming: "A Good Source of Calcium!" Broccoli, spinach, peas, lentils, salmon - sure, they're all good sources of calcium, but none of them have one essential ingredient: a popular, loveable, blue, google-eyed cartoon character on their packaging. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone actually spots that notice and thinks they're buying their child a healthy snack. Because the package could also just as truthfully claim, "A good source of high fructose corn syrup!" or, with perfect honesty, promise, "A good source of partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil!" Personally, I think I'll probably be sticking with salmon and spinach for my calcium needs. But if I ever get desperate for a quick and easy shot of calcium I'll always have the Cookie Monster Cookies to fall back on, because I'm sure that bag will sit unopened in my kitchen cupboard for many years (and will always taste exactly the same as they do today). To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute | 
