How breakfast cereal rose on a wave of pseudo-science

In the mid-19th century, a wave of health reform swept through America. At the heart of it was James Caleb Jackson, who in 1863 created the first dry breakfast cereal, Granula, at his sanitarium. He believed digestive “cleanliness” was key to wellness. (Wikipedia) Soon after, John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will, working at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, developed what became cold flakes of grain designed to be lighter and easier to digest than heavy breakfasts. (National Geographic) These cereals were marketed not just as convenient foods but as remedies for modern ailments — dyspepsia, sluggishness, even moral ills. (PBS) By the turn of the 20th century, ready-to-eat cereals were being mass-produced and marketed with claims that stretched far beyond nutrition. (HISTORY CHANNEL ITALIA) In short: what began as a dietary reform experiment rooted in wellness ideology turned into a mass-market breakfast staple built on convenience and health claims whose scientific basis was weak or speculative.