Bread On The Offensive

Sick of the low-carb craze? No organization is more frustrated by it than the Grain Foods Foundation. And, according to the organizations new marketing campaign (ad example above), Atkins followers don't know how separate the wheat from the chaffe when it comes to the real facts about grains and diet:

We'd had enough," said Paul Abenante, president and chief executive of the American Bakers Association in Washington, a foundation member. "We need to stand up for ourselves. Doing nothing is not an option."...

...The campaign also comes as the federal government readies a revised version of the "food pyramid" to reflect new dietary guidelines, issued Jan. 12, that call for measures like eating more whole grains.

"To the extent that the campaign emphasizes the benefit of eating whole grains in bread, it's a public service," said Dean Ornish, president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif., "because whole grains are actually beneficial."...

...While doctors and dieticians praise carbohydrates as energy sources, refined carbohydrates like white bread can lead to weight gain because they are not filling. Some ads promote whole grains, like one that declares, "Whole-grain foods help control hunger." Others promote high-fiber diets and the folic acid found in enriched grain foods.

But other ads are more general, centered on grains or carbohydrates. One, for instance, says, "A balanced diet that includes grains helps to prevent cataracts." Another declares, "Your brain needs carbohydrates to function properly."

And all the ads end the same way: "Bread is delicious. Filled with healthy grains. And makes life better. Bread. It's essential."

Judi Adams, president of the foundation, based in Ridgeway, Colo., agreed that "it is very, very important we get people to eat more whole grains, no question." She also said that there were "a lot of whole-grain products out there now that didn't used to be out there" because "we know people are not eating enough whole grains."

Hmm...Think a whole-wheat bagel might be in order for breakfast tomorrow.