Eating Nails for Breakfast Is there iron in that big bowl of cereal? email to friend
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*This experiment makes a good science fair project.

1. Open the box of Total cereal and pour a small pile of flakes on the plate. Crush them into tiny pieces with your fingers. Spread out the pile so it forms a single layer of crumbs on the plate. Bring the magnet close to the layer of crumbs (but don't touch any) and see if you can get any of the pieces to move. If so, that piece may contain some metallic iron (or it could be something else). Take your time.

2. Firmly press the magnet directly onto the crumbs but don't move it. Lift it up and look underneath to see if anything is clinging to the magnet. Several little pieces may be stuck there. Is it the magnet, static electricity, or just sticky cereal? Clean off the magnet and scrape the pile of crumbs into the plastic bag from your kit. Set it aside for now.

3. Pour water into the plate and float a few flakes on the water. Hold the magnet close to (but not touching) a flake, and see if the flake moves toward the magnet. (The movement may be very slight, so be patient.) With practice, you can pull the flakes across the water, spin them, and even link them together in a chain. Hmmm... there must be something that's responding to the closeness of the magnet.

Could it be metallic iron? In your cereal!

4. Measure 1 cup of Total cereal into a quart size zipper-lock bag. Fill the bag at least half full (that's right half full!) with water. Carefully seal the bag, leaving an air pocket inside. Mix the cereal and the water by squeezing and smooshing the bag until the contents become a brown, soupy mixture. This may take a long time. In fact, you may want to let it sit for an hour so the cereal softens completely. Warm water will speed up the process. Don't move onto the next step until the cereal is completely dissolved!

5. Make sure the bag is tightly sealed and lay it on a flat side in the palm of your hand. Place the super-strong magnet on top of the bag. Put your other hand on top of the magnet and flip the whole thing over so the magnet is underneath the bag. Slowly slosh the contents of the bag in a circular motion for 15 or 20 seconds. The idea is to attract any free moving bits of metallic iron in the cereal to the magnet.

6. Use both hands again and flip the bag and magnet over so the magnet is on top. Gently squeeze the bag to lift the magnet a little above the cereal soup. Don't move the magnet just yet. Look closely at the edges of the magnet where it's touching the bag. You should be able to see tiny black specks on the inside of the bag around the edges of the magnet.

That's the iron!

7. Keep one end of the magnet touching the bag and draw little circles. As you do, the iron will gather into a bigger clump and be much easier to see. Few people have ever noticed iron in their food, so you can really impress your friends with this one. When you're finished, simply pour the soup down the drain and rinse the bag. Think you could you find the iron in other fortified cereals? Why not?

How does it work?

Many breakfast cereals are fortified with food-grade iron particles (metallic iron) as a mineral supplement.

Total® cereal is the only major brand of cereal that claims to contain 100% of your recommended daily allowance of iron. The chemical symbol for iron is Fe. Many people believe that metallic iron is digested in the stomach, and eventually absorbed in the small intestine. However, there is a growing number of nutritionists who do not buy these claims and believe that the metallic iron simply passes through your system.

Hmmm? Sounds like some great research for a science fair project! If all of the iron from your body was extracted, you'd have enough iron to make only two small nails. However, iron is found in a very important component of your blood, called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the compound in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs so that it can be utilized by your body. It's the iron in hemoglobin that gives blood its red appearance.

A diet deficient in iron can result in fatigue, reduced resistance to diseases, and increased heart and respiratory rates. Food scientists say that a healthy adult requires about 18 mg of iron each day. So, as you can see, iron is a very important part of what you and your friends and family need to stay healthy. Eat up!

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