Grains of truth The low-carbs craze is getting people back to
the benefits of unprocessed foods, writes Marian Burros. In just
a couple of years, low-carbohydrate diets have accomplished what
governments have failed to do in decades of trying: convince the
public that refined grains are bad and whole grains are good.
"Low-carb diets have steered people toward whole grains," says
Bonnie Liebman, the director of nutrition for the Washington-
based Centre for Science in the Public Interest, "and made
millions of people cut back on things made with white flour,
such as white bread, hamburger buns, megamuffins, 400-calorie
bagels, pizza crusts, cakes, cookies, doughnuts and other
sweets, even pasta and white rice. "If you were asked to compare
the impact of the South Beach diet with dietary guidelines,
there would be no contest." Now if only consumers could
distinguish between grains that are refined and grains that are
whole. Just because bread is brown and has specks of something
in it, does not mean it is whole