Baking & Snack - February 2016 - 16

Oprah declares bread and weight loss compatible
Can bread and weight loss actually work together? According to Oprah Winfrey, they can.
"I love bread!" the media mogul declared last
month in a 30-second video advertisement for
Weight Watchers.
Ms. Winfrey set off a media firestorm Jan. 26
when she tweeted to her 30 million followers -
"Eat bread. Lose weight. Whaaatttt?" Shares of
Weight Watchers International, Inc., were jolted
upward by $2.17 per share, or 20%, in Nasdaq
trading the day she sent the message.
Ms. Winfrey partnered with Weight Watchers
beginning last October and owns 6.4 million
shares, or 10%, of the company.
"Weight Watchers has given me the tools
to begin to make the lasting shift that I and
so many of us who are struggling with weight
have longed for," she said last year. "I believe in
the program so much I decided to invest in the
company and partner in its evolution."
The 30-second advertising clip for Weight

Watchers, featuring Ms. Winfrey speaking in an
intense and deliberate voice, is devoted entirely
to discussing bread. "This is the joy for me,"
Ms. Winfrey emphatically says in the clip. "I
love bread. I love bread. I just manage it. I don't
deny myself. I have bread every day ... that's the
genius of this program. I lost 26 lb, and I have
eaten bread every single day."
Christine Cochran, executive director of the
Grain Foods Foundation, echoed Ms. Winfrey's
claims to bread's health merits. "We've known
for years that grains and bread are nutrientdense foods that are a vital part of a balanced
diet - even a diet resulting in weight loss," she
said. "Given a large majority of our nation is
missing out on essential nutrients such as fiber,
folate and iron, it is important to note that grain
foods are a key source of these nutrients, without being as carbohydrate- or calorie-dense as
many consumers seem to think."
-Josh Sosland, Milling & Baking News

Dietary Guidelines provide good news for enriched grains
Successes for the grain-based foods industry evident in the details
of the Dietary Guidelines 2015-20 should be a source of pride, said
Glenn Gaesser, PhD, chairman of the scientific advisory board of
the Grain Foods Foundation. Dr. Gaesser, who is professor of exercise science and health promotion and director of the Healthy
Lifestyles Research Center at Arizona State University, said the
outcome should embolden the industry to pursue a fully positive
public perception of grain-based foods.
The new guidelines retained recommendations calling for consumption of six servings of grains per day with at least half coming
from whole grains. The "Grain Chain," a grains industry coalition,
had sought the retention of this guidance.
"That was a big win and was somewhat surprising," Dr. Gaesser
said. "Language in the advisory committee report earlier this year
about what they referred to as refined grains was pretty harsh -
that intake of refined grains and added sugars should be limited."
Dr. Gaesser also was pleased by language in the report that
helped distinguish between the derogatory term "refined grains"
and the more descriptive term "enriched grains."
In a six-page letter sent in May to government agencies, the coalition urged "use [of] the term 'enriched grains' when referring to
refined grains, since more than 95% of the refined grains in the US
are enriched and fortified."
The 2015-20 Guidelines noted that, "most refined grains are en-

16 Baking & Snack February 2016 / www.bakingandsnack.com

riched, a process that adds back iron and four B vitamins (thiamin,
riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid). Because of this process, the term
'enriched grains' is often used to describe these refined grains."
"That was good news," Dr. Gaesser said. "We submitted good
evidence-based documentation, supported by the scientific literature as part of what was sought. I can't imagine any other input
was submitted about enriched grains other than from the grain
chain. Enrichment/fortification makes these products a good dietary choice."
-Josh Sosland, Milling & Baking News

http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - February 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - February 2016