Issue 27
March 2000

Wheat Foods Council

Promoting greater grains consumption through the Wheat Checkoff

Medical community get the 'Fact vs. Fad'

To educate the medical field about the dangers of fad diets, the Wheat Foods Council recently sent a direct mailing to approximately 6,000 general practitioners and family physicians and 11,000 nurse practitioners nationwide.

The mailing included the "Nutrition: Fact vs. Fad Setting the Record Straight" booklet (endorsed by the American Academy of Family Physicians), a cover letter and a business reply card (BRC) that recipients can return to receive free copies of the brochure.

The booklet addressed key points from fad diet book reviews and the benefits of complex carbohydrates.  The BRC will gauge health practitioners' nutrition knowledge and provide insight on the nutrition advice they are giving to patients.

A key focus of the WFC of late has been an aggressive program across the country aimed at negating anti-carbohydrate fad diets. 

The WFC, headquartered in Parker, Colorado, promotes increased consumption of grain-based food through nutrition, education and promotional programs.  It is funded by millers, bakers, cereal, cracker, tortilla and pasta manufacturers, and producer groups, including the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council.

Feature touts attributes of bread

As part of the Council and the American Bakers Association's bread and rolls program, a Family Feature page touting bread was released to the nation's newspaper editors in November. To extend coverage, the page will be re-released in January. The four-color, full-page feature highlights consumers' emotional ties to bread, while emphasizing that bread and rolls should be included in a families' healthful eating plan.

Take the punch out of high-protein diets

The following column was developed by the WFC for grain and nutritional leaders to use in stressing the importance of complex-carbohydrates to good health.

If you're like many American adults, you're on a diet right now - and odds are it's a high-protein diet. Do the results that these diets promise sound too good to be true? Trust your instincts if the answer is yes. Many high-protein diet books lack sound research to support their claims, and the proponents of these books often have no nutrition expertise.

So why do some people swear by high-protein diets and actually shed a few pounds temporarily? The key word here is temporarily. High-protein diets work temporarily because caloric intake is limited to 800 to 1,200 calories a day - not enough to meet the average adult's nutrition needs. Because it's impossible to maintain such a restrictive diet over the long haul, high-protein diet groupies tend to slip back into poor eating habits.

Supporters of high-protein diets also claim - without any supporting scientific evidence - that carbohydrates increase muscle fatigue, decrease mental alertness, stimulate the appetite and are addictive. In reality, the opposite is true.

Scientific studies prove that carbohydrates are the body's primary fuel for activity and the only fuel for the brain. That's why the Food Guide Pyramid, recognized by nutrition authorities for its emphasis on a balanced eating plan, showcases carbohydrate-rich grain foods as the base for all meals.

Complex carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta, cereal and tortillas, help jump-start your metabolism and allow your body to burn calories more efficiently. When this happens, some people may become hungry between meals and mistakenly think they're having carbohydrate cravings. In fact, because the body is burning its fuel more efficiently, it may be necessary to eat five or six smaller meals throughout the day rather than three big meals to keep stoking your fire.

If high-protein diets are not the solution to weight loss, then where should you turn? The answer is to go back to the simple, three-step plan that has stood the test of time. Nutrition experts agree that to maintain a healthy weight over the long term, you should:

• Decrease total calorie consumption. Choose lower-fat versions of your favorite meals and eat only until you don't feel hungry - not until you feel full.
• Increase the calories you burn through physical activity. Spend 10 minutes three times a day taking the stairs, walking or integrating other physical activity.
• Adopt a balanced, low-fat, high-carbohydrate eating plan based on the Food Guide Pyramid. Eat six to 11 servings of grain foods and three to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Follow the Pyramid's guidelines for the other food groups.