Low-carb craze has sent bread sales spiraling downward; industry fighting back with new PR campaign

• This week, the Grain Foods Foundation, a newly formed group of milling and baking companies, launched a "public education" campaign to fight back against the skip-the-bread trend linked to the Atkins, Zone and other high-protein, low-carb diets.
• Among their key points: grain-based carbohydrates aren't the problem in obesity; diets that restrict whole categories of food such as breads aren't feasible over the long term; and grain products are good sources of vitamins, mineral, fiber and other healthy substances.
• The grain foundation is also hoping, of course, to boost stale bread sales.
• The consumption of wheat flour, commonly found in bread, is down -- from 147 pounds per person per year in the United States in 1997, to just 136 pounds in 2003, said Adams.
• While the campaign isn't meant to condemn any particular diet, Adams said, the industry hopes the public will realize the role bread can play in a healthful diet.
• While 64 percent of respondents 18 to 34 years of age said they loved bread, just 39 percent of those 55 and up agreed.
• And Adams said that, despite claims to the contrary, eating bread can even help folks lose weight.
• If you're drifting back to bread, it's still all about portion control, said Cathy Nonas, an American Dietetic Association (ADA) spokeswoman and director of the obesity and diabetes program at North General Hospital in New York City.
• Like other dietitians, Nonas and Adams suggested that if you're on a 2,000-calorie-a- day diet, you should aim to eat three ounces of whole grains (from bread and other foods) and three ounces of other grains recommended by new U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines.
• "That goes quickly considering serving sizes," she said.