Spanish-language novela leading man Juan Soler and Honey Nut Cheerios® have launched a joint, multi-market, education initiative designed to help Hispanics lead a heart healthy life. Among its suggestions: cutting down on the heavy saturated fat and cholesterol intake contained in many Latin dishes.
Called, “Cuidate, Corazon” (Take Care, Heart), the initiative seeks to help reduce the incidence of heart disease, the leading cause of death among Hispanics, while celebrating the great honey taste of America’s favorite cereal, according to a news release. The initiative kicked off with a satellite media tour from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Convention Center, where the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is holding its annual conference and National Latino Family Expo this week. The tour’s message is expected to reach millions of Latino homes across the country, and will be followed by several in-market visits by Soler in the weeks to come.
“I am very proud to be working with Honey Nut Cheerios on this initiative, which is so important to our community,” said Soler. “We Hispanics need to learn about the health risks of eating diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol, so that we can begin to modify ours. We also need to begin ingesting more soluble fiber, which helps rid the body of bad cholesterol.”
The star of “Cuando Me Enamoro,” among many other Televisa -produced novelas, explained that most Hispanics erroneously believe that eating healthier implies sacrificing “sabor,” something they’re not willing to do.
“Our culture is very sensual and that is reflected in our music and in the way that we eat,” he said. “However, we need to dispel the false notion that healthy food needs be bland or lack flavor. Take Honey Nut Cheerios, for instance: the whole grain oats in America’s favorite cereal have soluble fiber. Three grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods, like Honey Nut Cheerios, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. Honey Nut Cheerios cereal provides 0.75g per serving. Eating four daily servings is a delicious way to eat healthy without sacrifice.”
Soler added that cooking Latin food with less amounts of grease, and using vegetable oil instead of animal fat to prepare traditional dishes, also is a good way to help protect oneself from heart disease; that along with eating balanced meals, watching weight and getting plenty of exercise.
Honey Nut Cheerios fun facts
• Honey Nut Bee was the mascot from the start—but he didn’t have a name until 2000, when the winner of a nationwide kid’s contest dubbed him “BuzzBee”;
• 210,503,000 pounds of Honey Nut Cheerios cereal were produced in 2011. This is the weight equivalent of more than 13,000 elephants; and
• It would take approximately 3,168,000,000 Os to wrap around the equator of Earth.
