Opinion: Debunking the fads

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2 Dec 2022

Tim O'Connor

Tim O’Connor is president and CEO of the Wheat Foods Council, a nonprofit formed to help increase public awareness of grains, complex carbohydrates and fiber as essential components of a healthy diet.

This column is part of our Last Word series, which invites noted professionals to provide closing thoughts at the end of each issue of Commercial Baking. See the full issue here.

KANSAS CITY, MO — The Wheat Foods Council (WFC) recently celebrated 50 years of educational and nutritional programs aimed to increase the demand for wheat foods, correct misinformation and debunk fad diets. Today, WFC uniquely remains an organization whose membership encompasses the entire wheat foods value chain, including state wheat commissions and associations, millers, bakers, ingredient and life science companies, and others working together to increase demand for wheat foods and enhance the business environment for everyone.

We have all seen what happens when fad diets, media headlines and influencers declare that wheat foods should be avoided. Every day must be dedicated to educating key influencers including health, nutrition and fitness professionals; menu development chefs; and consumer media about the positive nutrition in wheat foods and the fallacy of fad diets.

As these influencers become better informed, the advice they provide to millions of consumers every day will support wheat foods consumption.

Looking forward, the potential for fad diets to negatively affect the industry remains, unfortunately, very real.

Celebrities who use social media to promote magical weight loss or health improvement can cause millions of consumers to jump on the bandwagon.

Changing that influence is an industry-wide effort, and WFC is doing our part by educating credible influencers about the nutritional benefits of wheat foods, enabling them to disseminate sound information to their audiences and followers.

Many consumers rediscovered the joy of preparing family meals and baking at home during the pandemic. The present economic conditions of inflation — and the potential of a recession — will likely extend the runway for these meal patterns to remain at the forefront. This presents the industry with a significant opportunity to reverse the negative trends of low-carbohydrate fad diets.

As more consumers have great eating experiences and memorable family celebrations featuring wheat foods, many will let go of the misinformation that caused them to reduce their consumption.

We’ve been championing the cause for the past 50 years, and we are confident that, together, we can spend the next 50 years on the positive upswing.