Dr. Kracker

My health detective brother-in-law recently forwarded the following article to me:

Whole Grain Diets Lower Risk Of Chronic Disease, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2008) — Diets with high amounts of whole grains may help achieve significant weight loss, and also reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a team of Penn State researchers at University Park and the College of Medicine.

“Consumption of whole grains has been associated with a lower body weight and lower blood pressure,” said co-author Penny Kris-Etherton, distinguished professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State. “We thought that incorporating whole grains into a heart-healthy weight loss diet may provide the same benefits to people at risk from chronic diseases.”

The researchers recruited 50 obese adults — 25 male and 25 female — between ages 20 to 65 and known to have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

They were randomly assigned to either a group that received instructions to have all of their grain servings from whole grains or all of their grain servings from refined grains.

“We asked participants in the whole grain group to focus on foods that had whole grains as the first ingredient,” said lead author Heather Katcher, a Penn State Ph.D. recipient and currently a dietetic intern at Tulane University.

Over the 12-week study period, all participants received the same dietary advice on weight loss, and encouragement to participate in moderate physical activity. Researchers also asked participants to consume five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of low-fat dairy products, and two servings of lean meat, fish or poultry.

Results from the study showed that waist circumference and body weight decreased significantly in both groups — between 8-11 pounds on average — but weight loss in the abdominal region was significantly greater in the whole grain group.

According to Katcher, the whole grain group experienced a 38 percent decrease in C-reactive protein levels in their blood. A high level of this inflammatory marker is thought to place patients at a higher risk for diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

“Typically you would expect weight loss to be associated with a decrease in C-reactive protein, but the refined grain group showed no decrease in this marker of inflammation even though they lost weight,” said Kris-Etherton.

The Penn State researcher suggests that the finding is because the consumption of refined grains has been linked to increased levels of the protein. So even though people in the refined grain group lost weight, the fact that they ate so many refined grains probably negated the beneficial effect of weight loss on C-reactive protein levels.

While it is not fully clear how exactly the protein is decreased in the whole grain group, Richard Legro, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and a co-investigator, says the scale of reduction is similar to that seen with the use of statin drugs, highlighting the potential of diet to prevent serious medical complications.

Participants in the whole grain group also showed an increased intake of fiber and magnesium, both of which may prevent or delay the potential onset of diabetes.

Researchers say the study is timely as it addresses the wide choice of whole grains in the market.

“There are a lot of foods around that claim they contain whole grain but are not really major sources of whole grain,” said Kris-Etherton. She recommends whole grain foods where at least 51 percent of the grain comes from whole grain. These include oatmeal, whole grain cereal, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and snacks such as granola bars, popcorn and whole-wheat crackers.
“This is the first clinical study to prove that a diet rich in whole grains can lead to weight loss and reduce the risk of several chronic diseases,” added Kris-Etherton.

The study’s findings are published in the January 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Other researchers on the paper representing a unique multi-disciplinary team of clinical scientists that are actively studying the role of diet and disease include Allen R. Kunselman, senior instructor; Laurence M. Demers, distinguished professor of pathology and medicine; Deborah M. Bagshaw, clinical coordinator, all at Penn State, and Peter J. Gillies, director, Health Science Strategy, DuPont Haskell Laboratory for Health and Environmental Sciences.

The General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Human Nutrition and the NIH supported this study.

Adapted from materials provided by Penn State.

What great motivation to rethink what we eat! The correlation between whole grains and weight loss is especially strong; simple, easy advice for anyone who struggles with dieting. On the other hand, the relationship between the whole grains, weight loss and the C-reactive proteins is not totally understood. C-reactive proteins are inflammation markers, and weight loss is expected to reduce them, and with them, the risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. But the evidence suggests that a diet high in refined grains can reduce weight, and at the same time, elevate the C-reactive proteins, which negates the positive health benefits of the weight loss. There will certainly be further studies looking at this link between a diet high in refined grains and inflammation. You definitely want to reduce these C-reactive proteins!

The results also suggest that whole grains provide some of the same protection as statin drugs in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease—all for the low, low price of sliced whole grain bread or Dr. Kracker flatbreads! With their high fiber and magnesium content, whole grains in the diet can prevent the onset of diabetes. And for all of us with the bulging middle, it would appear that more daily servings of whole grains help deflate that spare tire! This is one awesome study that really clearly links a diet rich in whole grains to reductions in weight and the risk of life threatening diseases.

On another note: Recently, my favorite newsletter, University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter (Volume 26, Issue 6, March 2008), stated that “adults living with children tend to eat the fewest servings (of whole grain), since most kids prefer refined grains such as white bread. People consume 40% of their whole grains at breakfast. They get very little whole grains in restaurant meals, which supply more than one-third of Americans’ daily calories.” This really got me thinking.

One of my favorite conversations with customers is how to get more whole grains into the diets of their children. My wife and I struggled with our own son’s (now 13) diet, and we are both well aware that you can’t make a child eat what a child doesn’t want to eat. But first of all, having a child who won’t eat whole grains is no excuse for keeping the rest of the family hostage to his dietary preferences. And secondly: when I once voiced my frustrations about my son’s finicky tastes to my mother, she heard me out, then admonished me: “Remember, you are the parent.” And she was right.

I firmly believe that our role as parents is to always set a good example. In the case of sound nutrition and good diet management, this means being careful in the selection of snacks that come into the house, being dedicated to the preparation of nutritious food at home so as to avoid restaurants’ empty calories, and being ever-willing to try new and exciting foods that do offer whole grains. Another way to successfully influence the eating patterns of children is to sit down together for family dinners. Under ideal circumstances, food is enjoyed rather than just consumed, conversation is fun and enlightening, and parents have the opportunity to positively influence both the emotional and dietary maturity of their children. (Of course, there will be plenty of not very fun dinners, too, where the tension is as thick as the mashed potatoes. But even so, family dinners win on every count.)

With rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and other nutrition-related crises among kids today, I know that concerned parents, chefs and nutritionists are looking for ways to turn the trend around. Those of us whose careers and interests involve whole grains know that they are a delicious part of the solution. We’ve read the volumes of incontrovertible evidence that shows it.
So, in summary, to parents who ask me how to get more whole grains in their kids’ diets, my advice is this:

1. Make whole grains available. When kids are hungry, they’ll reach for what’s there. Make sure what’s there is something healthy by keeping your pantry filled with snacks and treats that contain whole grains, and minimize the processed alternatives.
2. Make a plate. Even the fussiest “white bread only” type kids will succumb to the temptations of colorful presentation. Try spreading individual Krispy Grahams with peanut butter and jelly, or simple fruit preserves, and arrange them on a plate with sliced apples. Make that available at snack time and you’ll be surprised how quickly it disappears. Or, arrange our Snack Chips or Flatbreads around sliced cheese or a dish of dip. The trick is to not ask if they want it, but just have it available. Believe me, it works!
3. “Sneak” them in. Break Dr. Kracker flatbreads onto soups, salads, and on top of mac & cheese. Use crushed flatbreads in meatballs, or as breading for fried fish sticks or chicken. Make ice cream sandwiches with tempered ice cream between two Krispy Graham crackers. Your kids will never know what exactly is making their favorite foods so healthy—or delicious!

Hopefully, if the whole grains message is heard often enough, it will sink in and consumers (and their children!) will join the “health careful” and change the way they eat. At Dr. Kracker, we work to make all of this easier and more delicious for everyone with the artisan-baked meal-sized flatbreads, Krispy Grahams, Snack Chips and Snack crackers we make every day—every one rich in both whole grains and Uber Crunch.

Here’s to your continued great health!

Ever mindful of that New Year’s resolution to get more important Omega 3’s in his diet, Dr. Kracker is making and eating fish spreads as often as he can. And in the process, one thing he’s learned is that a 7-oz can of salmon mixed with cannelloni beans makes a lot of spread! It takes a while to finish one recipe before I can make and test another, which is why there might be a little time between posts.

As with my previous recipes, the recipe below calls for canned salmon, to avoid the farm-raised salmon and the problems associated with them. (Although high mercury levels in sushi-grade blue fin tuna have recently been identified, I haven’t seen any problems in the wild-caught salmon that find their way into cans.)

Tomato Salmon Spread
1 7-oz can of salmon
1 15-oz cannellini beans
4-oz sun dried tomatoes in oil
5 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice (one large lemon)
¼ to ½ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ cup black sesame seeds
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp sea salt
Optional: ¼ cup chopped fresh dill.

Blend all together. Chill.

This is my new favorite breakfast spread—it’s replaced the peanut butter flatbread I used to have every morning. And with it, I’m getting plenty of protein, plus essential fatty acids and all kinds of extra nutrition from the beans and sesame seeds!
(For a milder version, omit the onion.)

Last night was a spaghetti night at my house, complete with meatballs from our Elgin rancher’s grass-fed beef. I’ve mentioned before that when a recipe calls for breadcrumbs, for added texture and nutrition, I use Dr. Kracker flatbread or Snacker crumbs instead. (I just throw a few in my Cuisinart and hit “frappe.”) They worked particularly well in this meatball recipe. The pecans add a nice Texas twist to the hearty beef, not to mention nutritional fatty acids.

Bonus Omega 3 recipe: Pecan Parmesan Meatballs
Crumbs: enough Dr Kracker (any flavor) to make ½ cup of crumbs
1/3 cup pecans.
Grind to crumbs or meal in a food processor.

Mix into:
1# ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
1 large egg (we enjoy pasture raised eggs)
¼ cup grated Reggiano cheese
¼ tsp sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper.

Combine, shape into meatballs, and sauté before adding to your favorite red sauce. I was pleasantly surprised at how unmistakable the pecan flavor was in the ground meat.

I still haven’t been able to find more information about the type of Omega 3’s in grass-fed beef on the internet, other than the numerous articles mentioning it in general. So I’m still not certain whether the Omega 3’s in grass-fed beef are the long chain or the shorter chain essential fatty acids. But you need both in your diet, so you really can’t go wrong here.
Enjoy, and look for more Omega 3-rich recipes from the Doctor in the future!

The Dr. admits to eating less than the recommended amounts of fish. Living inland, just-caught, truly fresh fish was never an available option to me. And, apart from my concern about the distance between the ocean and my home, I have very real worries about both sustainable populations of fish and the pollutants the larger species absorb, which would eventually be absorbed by me and the family were those larger species of fish served at my table. So when it came to essential Omega 3 fatty acids, I’ve always relied on flaxseeds, fresh veggies, and grass-fed beef raised in nearby Elgin, Texas as my best sources.

Nevertheless, every health related newsletter I pick up seems to emphasize the importance of the long-chain Omega 3’s in helping to lower cholesterol and improve heart health. Flaxseeds and other seeds contain short chain fatty acids that can be converted by the body into long chain fatty acids, but these vegetarian sources of Omega 3’s aren’t the most effective or efficient way to get this essential nutrient into your system. In fact, it takes approximately 10 units of flax Omega 3 to make the equivalent of 1 longer chain unit of fish Omega 3. (The ratio of conversion of grass-fed red meat Omega 3 into the equivalent of fish Omega 3 is currently under study by a number of nutritionists, and I have not yet seen any conclusive findings.)

The cholesterol-reducing, heart-healthy impact of these fish-based Omega 3’s has been well established. Now, in the last issue of the University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter (Volume 24, Issue 4), I read that inflammation is being more closely looked at as a cause of heart disease. And guess what? The fish-based Omega 3’s are effective in reducing inflammation.

As you may already know, I like to have as much fun as the next person, and am willing to take a risk here and there to do so. But one thing I don’t take risks with is the health of my heart. So, after careful consideration (because resolutions should not be made lightly), I’ve decided to eat more fish in 2008. The same issue of the Wellness Newsletter mentioned canned sardines as a great way to bring Omega 3’s into the diet, which perfectly addresses my concerns about freshness, sustainable fishing, and pollution absorption.

But how do they taste? After all, food isn’t medicine, and shouldn’t taste like it.

Well, like most other foods, when sardines are treated well and thoughtfully, they taste great. And I’ve become so inspired by the health benefits and culinary potential of canned sardines (as well as canned mackerel and salmon) that I’ve embarked on a quest to gather recipes and for fish spreads and pates to serve with Dr. Kracker’s whole grains and whole seeds. From casual snacks to appetizers and light meals, our robust, hearty Dr. Kracker flatbreads and crackers are the perfect complement to the strong, oil-rich flavor of these delicious and healthful little fish.

So here are a few to start the chain of “Long-Chain-Omega-3-Rich Sardine Spreads And Pates,” tested and tweaked by me. Enjoy!

Sardine & Bean Spread
from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to 5-10 Minute Appetizers

1 can sardines (3.75 oz) in water or olive oil, drained
1 15.5 ounce can of cooked cannellini beans
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice (almost 1 lemon)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp hot sauce

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth, then chill for at least 2 hours. Spread on your favorite Dr. Kracker.

Notes: The original recipe called for chick peas, but I like the smoother flavor of the cannellini beans, which, according to a recent study in the Journal of Nutrition, have been shown to have cholesterol-lowering qualities.

Mediterranean Sardine Spread
also from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to 5-10 Minute Appetizers

1 can sardines (3.75 oz) in oil or water, drained
1 cup cream cheese (I used the reduced fat)
1/2 cup (about 4 oz) of sun dried tomatoes, oil packed, drained
1/2 cup pitted (about 4 oz, pitted Kalamata olives)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley.

Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes, then blend with all other ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Notes: The original recipe called for olive oil, but I found there was enough oil in the sun-dried tomatoes to create a smooth spread. If you like a richer texture, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to taste.

With the wealth of resources available on the internet (just googling “sardine spread” worked for me), you can easily find dozens of recipes that include a wide variety of other ingredients. I’ll continue researching and testing these spreads, and I promise (New Year’s Resolution #2) to follow up with another entry very soon. (I’m also curious to experiment with canned salmon and mackerel). Stay tuned, stay well, and have a healthy 2008!

This is the time of year when the Doctor attends local food shows and other consumer-based events — something I especially enjoy. Standing at a table piled high with packages of Flatbreads, Snackers, and bowls of samples, it’s great to hear firsthand the enthusiastic feedback of both current and future customers. But every now and then a customer (almost always a man, which is curious) will say, "It looks too healthy, I probably won’t like it."

This always leaves me wondering what the implication of "too healthy" is. Since I have a rebellious nature myself, I suspect that part of this attitude is based on an automatic rejection of what these people feel is being forced on them for their own good, especially if they think they’ll have to give up something they enjoy in the process. ("You want me to put cod liver oil on my toast instead of butter, and like it? Hell, no!") It’s true that a few decades ago, the good-for-you alternatives to standard conventional fare were pretty rough; it seemed if you wanted to eat foods that were high in nutritional value, you had to be prepared to suffer in the process. But these days, the shelves and cases of supermarkets everywhere are overflowing with good-for-you-foods that taste as good as—and very often better than—their processed and artificially flavored counterparts. I’m proud that Dr. Kracker fits into this category—that not only are we are providing alternatives and solutions to the nutritional problems of the day, we make absolutely delicious products that anyone would choose on the merits of taste and texture alone.

In his recent article about the challenges of universal health coverage, Peter Huber makes a distinction between the “health-conscious” and the “heath-careless.” To me, “health-careless” seems a good description of the group of people who say they don’t like healthy-looking food. Because there’s just no escaping the fact that there is a direct correlation between the quality of the foods we eat and the quality of the health we enjoy.

The dire consequences of poor nutrition in our country are beginning to be daily news items, as they should be. During the last year the Doctor has been at Diabetes shows, the Food and Nutrition Expo, regional dietitians’ events and numerous health and wellness fairs. I’ve seen first hand the enormity (no pun intended) of health problems caused by obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and food allergies, and I’ve met the committed professionals addressing these problems. As individuals, many of us are choosing to live and think healthy. But the question is, as a society, can we afford not to? I don’t think we can, and as with most of the bigger problems of today, I think the best solution to a new awareness of the importance of good nutrition is in the hands of the stewards of tomorrow: namely, our children.

Since graham crackers are often a child’s first cracker, I’ve always strived to make a cracker that genuinely appeals to kids—one they WANT to eat, not just are willing to eat—so Dr. Kracker could provide caring parents everywhere a real alternative to the General Mills/Nabisco path.

Most people these days might not know that the graham cracker is named after the Reverend Sylvester Graham, who was born in Connecticut in 1794 and died in 1851. After surviving a fairly sickly childhood, Sylvester Graham made a connection between a better diet and good health. In those days, flour was extensively bleached and refined to feed the myth that white bread was better than brown. Graham came to the conclusion that the resulting loss of the bran and the wheat germ was one of the contributing causes to declining health of the general population. His “graham flour” was a return to whole grain milling.

Ordained in 1826, the Reverend was a stirring speaker, and held large events to discuss spirituality and health. Graham strongly urged that his followers take responsibility for their health by reforming how they ate and how they lived their lives. Through his health lectures, the Reverend also became known as Dr. Graham, although he had not studied medicine. The Doctor Reverend became one of the first examples of a popular figure heavily censored by the industries he criticized. His advocacy of vegetarianism and home baking caused an uproar among butchers and bakers, and there were near-riots by these tradesmen to keep Graham from speaking. The Reverend’s movement came to be known as Grahamites, and the Graham cracker is one of the enduring legacies of his recommendations for an improved diet.

I found the recipe for our Krispy Grahams in an old baking book. I was thrilled to see yeast recommended as a leavening agent, since Dr. Kracker bakes with yeast rather than chemicals. (While there’s nothing wrong with chemical leavenings such as baking powder or baking soda, yeast’s fermentation creates a more profound flavor, and the texture is much more crisp and robust.) This recipe needed just a little tweaking and adjusting to create our Krispy Grahams. We chose to use whole grain spelt flour as an answer to the increasing awareness of wheat allergies. We debated whether to use butter or not, but finally decided that organic butter creates the best flavor profile, even if it does depart from Dr. Graham’s advocacy of the strictest vegetarian diet. And we dust the grahams lightly with sugar to concentrate the sugar on the top crust, so we can get by with a less sweet version. And like all of our flavors, the Krispy Graham has flaxseeds for their extra fiber, protein and Omega 3 fatty acids. This is very much an heirloom recipe that is 100% whole grain, one of the few whole grain grahams on the market!

Our Krispy Grahams have been slowly gaining sales in the marketplace, and at our customer food shows, customers always give it high marks. They like that it’s not overly sweet, they enjoy the more substantial texture and mouth feel, and they want more whole grains, both for themselves and for their children. Our grahams have even been accepted into the Unified Berkeley School District, where they’re part of the snack program.

We feel that all of the Dr. Kracker Flatbreads, Snackers and Snack Chips honor the memory of the Reverend Graham. We join the Reverend in spirit to passionately “preach” the connection between healthy food and health itself. And most of all, we hope that with our delicious, great-tasting, and genuinely wholesome products, Dr. Kracker can open the door for the “health-careless” of today to make a conversion, while inspiring a future generation of healthy children to never settle for anything less than what is truly best for them.

(Peter Huber is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of “The Bottomless Well.” I saw his article in the Investors Business Daily of October 29, 2007)

I have always loved eating soup. Growing up in Michigan, soup was part of our daily lunch and, because my mother always served the soup burn-the-tongue hot, so were the saltines that we hungrily dipped into the soup while it cooled. I will admit that the salty zest of a cracker, transfat, shortening and all, was delicious. Now that I live in Texas where it is sweltering hot most of the year, I look forward to the winter temperatures when hot soup can be on the dinner menu again.

Long ago I got away from the white flour, shortening, transfat and high salt content of saltines, but, because I still like my soup scalding hot, I experienced a cracker gap. Dr. Kracker has now solved this dilemma with a Kracker that offers a broad menu of whole grain flavors which complement, enhance and increase the flavors in the soup. The thick Krackers keep their texture, which provides for a robust mouth experience. At Dr. Kracker we are never satisfied with the status quo and are always looking for new ways to bring organic whole grains and organic whole seeds to our customers. This is why we are proud to announce the birth of the Klassic Snack Flat, an awesome soup cracker.

This idea began last year when our miller in Utah showed us a phenomenal whole grain white wheat flour. Since white wheat has been making the headlines lately, a little wheat history is in order. When consumers hear “white wheat,” they are often confused by the name. Those of us interested in nutrition are schooled to reject white flour because it has been stripped of all fiber, vitamins and minerals. Non-whole grain white wheat flour is nutritionally comparable to regular white flour. The whole grain white wheat with it’s deliciously rich flavor and superior baking characteristics, have given us a whole new way to entertain the pallet.

Traditionally, farmers planted only the red winter wheat or red spring wheat that was brought to the United States by German and Russian immigrants. The red refers to the brownish red color in the bran of the un-milled wheat berry. Just as corn comes in multiple colors such as yellow, white, blue, and red, wheat also has color variations (although nothing as extravagant as maize). Whole grain breads baked from red wheats are bitter, so most are sweetened with honey or sugar to mask the bitterness. The white wheats came from Asia and lacked the bitter flavor that characterized the reddish bran. The flavor of white wheats is characterized as rich and sweet, and needs no sweetener to fool the taste buds.

Along with their delectable flavor, the white wheats contain superior baking characteristics. In baker-speak, “superior baking characteristics” means a perfect balance in the wheat’s gluten of extensibility and elasticity that enables the bread to rise without collapsing. Moreover, the white wheats also have more natural pigments, which are the source of the rich flavor that develops as the flour undergoes fermentation during dough preparation and baking. Bread baked with white wheat has a rich, yellow color and full delicious flavor that is unmatched by breads baked with flours from red winter wheats.

The press has heralded white wheat as an appealing alternative to white flour breads. With white wheat, whole grain breads are more palatable without the addition of sugar, which is great for those of us who want to delete sugar from our diets. With improved flavor and baking characteristics, whole grain white wheat gives bakers the means to introduce more whole grains into the diet of children at an early age. This could break the hold of white flour on the diet, which has been the bread icon for far too long. The positive health implications are profound.

We at Dr. Kracker are proud of our new Klassic Snack Flat. This one-half size flat bread is 100% whole grain white wheat. It is baked with no added fats or oils and combines its rich, wheaty flavor with the whole seed goodness of flax, sunflower and sesame seeds. Baked, the thick crust has a wonderfully orange hue. The Kracker is crispy as opposed to hard and, as a French chef told me, “This is the perfect toast!” The Snack Flat is ideal for soups, perfect for snacks as well as salads, and comes in individually wrapped slices for easy carrying. We hope you will be as enthusiastic about it as we are.

Enjoy your soup!

Recently, a number of customers have written inquiring about where Dr. Kracker rates on the glycemic index. This measurement is appearing more and more on food packages, and consumers concerned about weight loss and consumers who care about diabetes in particular want this information included on all packages. However, the measurement of the glycemic index is not as straightforward as the analysis of fiber, for example. Given the FDA’s great dedication to protecting all consumers from false and misleading health claims, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some guidelines about the use of the glycemic index on packaging issued in the very near future.

Dr. Kracker has always followed a very strict guideline about making health claims—We don’t make any other than our tag line: “good-for-you food that tastes great!” We believe that Dr. Kracker’s flavor speaks for itself and that customers are informed enough these days to understand the value of minimally processed whole grain flours, whole seeds, high fiber and lower carbohydrate foods in the diet.

In the meantime, I am reprinting this December 2006 article from the University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter in its entirety. The Wellness Letter emphasizes science and provable health claims. It is my health bible and it thoroughly examines all claims regarding health and wellness.

When I worked at Whole Foods, sales always took off in the beginning of January. This was the New Year’s resolution and the new lifestyle resolution effect. The beginning of the new year is as good of time as any to resolve to eat better. As the Berkeley Wellness Letter so clearly states, the keys to losing weight are to eat better food and to limit calories. Whole grains are an important part of any strategy because the whole grain fiber means slower chewing and slower digestion and a quicker feeling of satisfaction. Dr. Kracker provides a perfect dietary food that both nourishes and satisfies. As we like to say, we bake good-for-you food that tastes great. Enjoy 2007!

Recently I was asked to answer some questions about the overlap between natural foods and gourmet foods, the gour-natural foods. In thinking about how these food categories have run together in many minds, I came up with the following thoughts.

I’m not certain how to define gourmet foods. When I awakened to food in the 60’s, gourmet implied a higher price and a more limited appeal to a more exclusive clientele. It was food that placed flavor, texture and sensual appeal above all else. Ingredient purity was not an absolute. Food for snobs, in other words. In contrast, a definition of natural foods is simple. In the case of processed foods, these are the foods that contain no artificial ingredients nor any chemical preservatives. If they are organic as well, they are limited to the types of fertilizers and other inputs used during the raising of plants and animals.

The clientele who created the natural foods market and propelled natural foods into social awareness were also elitists in a sense. They rejected the chemical solutions to growing and manufacturing mass produced food. Nutritional considerations and source of the food were paramount in the natural foods movement, and many a brick-like loaf of bread was baked in the interest of ingredient purity. But at the same time, natural foods “freaks” had a missionary bent; they wanted to bring natural foods to the main stream and they wanted to transform how the world grows and manufactures food. During the counter culture of the 60’s, I saw natural foods achieve the threshold of awareness, and since then it has become a movement whose impact has grown into a many tiered and complex farming, manufacturing and retailing system.

Not all gourmet foods are natural foods, since preservatives and chemicals can find their way into any food. But these days, I see the gourmet and natural trends completing their merger, and the slow food movement and artisan food movements are providing much of the push for this union. Both artisan and slow food are processed following the many-step and careful techniques of food preparation and food preservation that are part of our global food heritage. Generally, these techniques are natural since this heritage predates better living through chemistry! The quest for complex and outstanding flavors relies on process. A long fermentation Ciabatta made from finally milled wheat (read white) flour can take three days and is one of the outstanding results of artisan baking. Complexity of flavor and exciting texture trump concerns about food and health claims. This is gour-nartural food at its best: it is all about how great the food is, with chemical-free and preservative-free being an implicit definition of great.

Nonetheless, as natural and gourmet have inextricably intertwined, consumers are going one step further and demanding that foods address their health concerns. I think that these new demands are a direct result of better knowledge about diet and health as well as our aging baby boomers’ wanting to live longer and to live better, remaining active and healthy until death may knock at the door. These new demands on the food system emphasize minimally processed foods. Consumers now recognize that this is the message of the natural foods and slow food movements since their inception. Over-processing steals the inherent flavors and inborn richness of the food. These are the parts of the food that are stripped away so as not to have to bother with shorter shelf lives and the challenges of food preservation. Now, food must taste great, be crafted without preservatives or other chemicals and must come with god’s intended package of nutrients. And they want them in a shape and form that is delicious and convenient, even if it means frozen and almost ready to eat! They want calories that matter.

There may be a contradiction between ready-to-eat, convenience foods and minimally processed foods. However there are ways for food manufacturers and artisans to preserve the best of the food as they mimic the complicated steps that the chef at home would have to perform to prepare dinner. So we’ve gone from better living through chemistry to better tasting food through better knowledge and a better understanding of and control of bacteria and enzymes. Good-for-you food does not have to come from a cave or a peasant’s cellar in Eastern Europe. It can come from the To-Go section of the supermarket or from the freezer section where the colorful packages tell the story with wonderful photographs and compelling text.

Any discussion of gourmet and natural foods must discuss costs. Do artisan and slow foods have to cost more and be exclusive? Slower processing means added costs. Time is money. Parmesan Reggiano ferments for two years before it can be sold. In the meantime, the farmer, the cheese maker and the cows have to eat! But artisan doesn’t have to mean exclusive. Years ago in the natural foods industry, an executive was heard to say: “customers expect us to be expensive; let’s not disappoint them.” I think that changes in the grocery world today are in the process of burying this thought, and this individual is now retired!

We are witnessing the blurring of the formerly sharp lines between the supermarkets and the natural foods chains. Wal-Mart and other local chains such as HEB in Texas have taken the logical step of moving from selling high value, gourmet foods to selling natural and organic foods as well. Costco is known for delivering gourmet and natural foods at great prices. Whole Foods, the largest natural foods chain, has an extensive private label brand—365—that promises and delivers great value 365 days, every day of the year.

Many of these chains pride themselves on their logistics, and they specialize in buying larger quantities from the farmers and artisans and move them at the least cost to the customer. Savings in this procurement and logistics are passed along to the customer. Wal-Mart’s stated goal is to sell organic foods at a price not significantly higher than other foods and to be the lowest cost seller of organic foods. SuperValu is looking in the same direction with its new chain: Sunflower. The question is whether the sophisticated consumers will go to the Wal-Mart or SuperValu stores to buy their foods or whether they will stick to the chains that know how to sell the story of the foods and which so effectively communicate an appreciation of food and a natural lifestyle as much as they sell food itself.

Where does Dr. Kracker fit into this? Dr. Kracker sees itself as selling healthy food but not just health food. Dr. Kracker is a company of artisan bakers. Coming from a natural foods background, we commit to organic ingredients as an important part of quality foods and to systems of sustainable agriculture. As bakers, we understand the slow, careful mixing of whole grain ingredients, we have been schooled in the long fermentation of doughs, and we know how to optimize the caramelization of the flatbread’s crust to develop the richest flavors. We know how to make great tasting and good-for-you food from the very simple ingredients of grains and seeds rather than relying on fats, oils, salt and sugars for flavors.

But I don’t like to think of Dr. Kracker as a gourmet food company or as a health food company. Dr. Kracker is in the happy spot where good-for-you food meets great tasting food. There is less need to emphasize nutrition, when the flavor and texture are so beyond what has been available. But fiber, flax seeds, good oils and high protein are all important characteristics that we look for in minimally processed foods and ingredients. Dr. Kracker is proud to bake food as it should be.

Given the nutritional challenges that face the world—a world in which surfeit of food is becoming as great of a problem as scarcity of food. Obesity and diabetes will impose huge future costs on our medical system, and most likely fill up all those handicapped parking spaces that now stand empty for much of the day. The answers, however, are clear and straightforward. Eat foods that are good for you and avoid those that are not good for you. More specifically, find a diet that is rich in minimally processed foods and avoid the processed foods, which can impoverish us not only with their empty calories but also their destructive calories. Steer away from trans-fat and keep saturated fat to levels within recommended parameters. Keep high fructose corn syrup and other sugars to a minimum. Many of us in the food system are working at crafting foods that taste great and which have the entire natural package of nutrients, vitamins and fiber in a delicious form to your table. We are creating those foods with the calories that matter. Look for these foods in your specialty supermarkets, in your natural food stores and in WalMart, Costco and SuperValu stores.

As a baker, I first became aware of spelt and its potential as a bread grain when I noticed spelt loaves appearing on the shelves of supermarkets in Austin, Texas, where I make my home. These loaves were wholesaled by a baker who had discovered that she could not tolerate gluten but that she could eat spelt without suffering any gastrointestinal distress. In our bakery, we had played around with spelt, baking breads and rolls, but we had never crafted a truly great bread. Spelt flour and spelt baking have their idiosyncrasies, and only later, through trial and error, did I learn that the key to baking great spelt bread is a spelt sourdough, the high acid content of which fortifies the gluten in spelt so that the bread, rather than collapsing rises and holds its shape. As a baker and part-owner of the Dallas-based Dr. Kracker Enterprises, I have found that spelt is perfect for the baking of yeast-raised flatbreads. Spelt bread, even when baked with sourdough, has a tendency to dry out and crumble very quickly. Flatbreads are baked dry. Instead of crumbling, spelt flatbreads remain deliciously crisp. Of the many varieties of flatbread we produce, I prefer the ones made with spelt because of their great crunch!

When I first contemplated delivering this talk, I intended to highlight the fact that there is a small but significant group of people in our population that has stopped eating wheat because they have celiac disease (CD), a genetic, autoimmune illness also known as gluten-sensitive enteropathy or celiac sprue. Someone with CD has an immune system that’s like a gun trained on his or her intestinal villi. Absent villi, the tiny fingerlike projections on the small intestine, the body is unable to absorb nutrients into the bloodstream. Gluten in foods is the gun’s trigger.

According to Alessio Fasano, M.D., an Italian researcher formerly with the University of Naples and now with the University of Maryland, one in every 133 people in the U,S, has CD. Possible symptoms include headache, anemia, diarrhea, and skin problems such as eczema and dermatitis. Additionally, people with Celiac Disease risk osteoporosis, miscarriages, deformed offspring, and even non hodgekins lymphomas and adenocarcinomas The only known way to treat these symptoms is to avoid consuming wheat products and grain products that contain gluten. The only way to know for certain whether one has celiac disease is to first have a blood test that will show indications of the autoimmune response to the wheat gluten, but the gold standard for tests is an intestinal biopsy. Because CD is a genetic condition, first cousins of CD sufferers have reason to suspect CD if they have any of the above symptoms. The best remedy or treatment for celiac disease is to stop eating gluten. The villi will regenerate fairly quickly and damage can be reversed.

More prevalent than celiac disease or CD is the relatively common gluten intolerance, which is not genetic and does not, as far as experts in the field know, have the potential to destroy the intestines and lead to life-threatening illnesses even if a strict gluten-free diet isn’t followed. Both people with CD and people with gluten intolerance avoid wheat in order to feel well, but there may be some exceptions in the group with gluten intolerance.

Originally, I wanted to look at spelt as a wheat surprise that could possibly be included in the diets of people with CD. Because I had heard firsthand from a number of people who were on gluten-free diets that they could eat spelt products with no difficulty, I suspected that there was a difference between CD and gluten intolerance, and that spelt may be appropriate for both. This encouraged me to believe that I could recommend spelt to the estimated one in 133 Americans who are celiacs as well as to the gluten intolerant, but I later learned that whether or not people with CD experience unpleasant or painful symptoms after eating any given food containing gluten, their intestines continue to suffer serious damage.

These risks don’t appear to be shared by the one in seven people who are gluten intolerant. Of course, it’s possible that even this population should proceed with caution when it comes to all wheats, including spelt. Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America in Seattle, herself has celiac disease. According to Ms. Kupper, people with gluten intolerance, not celiac disease, may in fact be able to indulge in spelt. They may actually be reacting to carbohydrates rather than gluten, she told me! Because it may not be the gluten that is causing discomfort to this group, I think it more accurate to call this group “wheat sensitive,” and I will do so for the rest of this paper. Clearly, much more research is needed, and the names of these two disorders may need tweaking to avoid confusion, inaccuracy, and perhaps even potentially serious medical errors. But I’m now inclined to tell my wheat sensitive friends to consult their doctors with regard to including spelt in their diets, assuming it provokes no perceived discomfort, while warning those with CD to avoid spelt as they would any other wheat.
In January of this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began enforcing the 2004 Food Allergy Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) , which stipulates that all foods that contain food allergens or that are derived from food allergens be labeled. Wheat is one of the eight major food groups that Congress has stated account for all food allergies. Labels applied prior to Jan. 1, 2006, need not be changed.

Spelt products will, of course, be labeled “Contains wheat.” Still, a number of wheat sensitive people have told me that the modern bread wheats are the ones they must avoid in order to feel well. They can, and do, eat breads made from spelt. Spelt is often referred to as the ancient wheat, but spelt is actually not that ancient. Spelt is two genetic transformations removed from the truly ancient Einkorn wheat. Twice, spontaneous crosses between other grass species and the Einkorn wheat introduced new genetic material into wheat, each time increasing the number of chromosomes and the amount of genetic material. Spelt was the result of the second crossing.
So where does spelt fit into the wheat family? It is classified as hulled wheat because of the thick hull that encapsulates and protects the seed. The seed can be released by pounding on the hull. This hull and its disappearance is the key to the emergence of modern bread wheats. This transformative event could have occurred very quickly via a simple genetic mutation. The result was a seed freed from its hull. With this change, the new class of wheats called free-threshing wheats arrived on the scene. For the next 5,000 years or so, these two classes of wheats survived. They were planted and harvested, and they nourished both humans and animals at many a farmstead. In fact, spelt was still widely planted in the United States and Europe until the early 1900’s.

While wondering why spelt quickly faded into obscurity, I discovered that spelt’s fate was closely tied to horses on farms. Spelt nourished both humans and animals, but it was more important as a feed grain for horses. Spelt is high in protein, and its hull provides the extra fiber that horses require in their diet. Since the farmer was using spelt as a feed grain, there was no need to mill away the protective hull. However, as agriculture mechanized in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, horses were no longer essential on the farm, and the demand for spelt as animal feed declined. Only the Amish retained spelt seeds and knowledge of the grain because they continued to plow with horses. Apparently, spelt remained much more of an agricultural star in Europe and fed both human and beast until very recently. However, I have not been able to find out why spelt endured longer as a grain for the human diet. Like many traditions in Europe, its endurance may have had no reason to survive other than tradition itself.

Meanwhile, the industrial revolution changed bread baking, which in turn influenced the demand for spelt as flour. Bread baking had once been a local or quite regional practice but changed as larger bakeries, producing sliced pan breads, proliferated. Spelt doesn’t work for bakers of commercial breads because it lacks the modern bread wheat’s balance of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. This balance is the story of elasticity and extensibility. For the baker, perfect bread dough needs to have both and both must be correctly balanced. Too much elasticity, and the bread dough is too tight. The gases created during fermentation cannot expand adequately. Too much extensibility, and the bread collapses during the rising process like elastic that has lost its snap. The collapsing of the dough is the problem that characterizes bread baking with spelt.

Plant breeders did not look to spelt to perfect the mix of elasticity and extensibility. They were satisfied with modern wheat’s existing fine balance. Spelt already had one strike against it because its hull required additional milling. The free-threshing characteristics of modern bread wheats made processing from grain to flour quite easy. Wheat breeders successfully teased new varieties out of modern genetic material, and these varieties exhibited even better baking characteristics despite the punishing treatment that doughs received in the mechanized bakeries that became the main source of bread in the United States. Scientists focused on the same wheats and found ways to increase vastly their yield per acre. We don’t know whether, with focused breeding, the gluten balance of spelt could have been improved as was the gluten in modern bread wheats or whether the yield per acre would have increased to the same extent, but fortunately for those of us who love spelt and for whom spelt is a genuine substitute for modern bread wheat, plant breeders left spelt as it was, and there is a different type of wheat available to us. In effect we are the recipients of this wonderful heirloom.
Currently, all heirloom foods are regaining visibility and winning respect as customers learn about their impressive nutritional value and rich complex flavor. There is great charm to unimproved foods that don’t fit into the industrial agricultural model; they bring out the rebel in us that always wants to support the underdog. Whether true or not, I think many of us also feel that these older plants possess an inner vitality that they draw on since heirlooms didn’t depend on the massive input of chemical fertilizers and herbicides to grow and reach maturity.

Undeniably, heirloom spelt holds an important place in healthy diets. Its special taste and color bring it closer to the white wheats that are gaining in popularity. This class of wheats is blond in contrast to the red wheats that are make the daily bread and everything else wheat. Although the white wheats are free-threshing modern wheats, they lack the red pigment that can cause whole wheat to be bitter in flavor. This lack of pigment creates a new flavor profile. Whole grain spelt is not only sweeter in flavor but more gentle to digest. Interestingly, spelt also has some unique carbohydrates called mucopolysaccharides, which stimulate the body’s immune system.

The 12^th century Medieval Abbess Hildegard von Bingen, later Saint Hildegard, endorsed spelt, calling it “the healing grain.” She’s actually quoted as saying, “It is rich and nourishing and milder than other grains. It produces a strong body and healthy blood to those who eat it, and it makes the spirit of man light and cheerful.” Perhaps her food wisdom was as far-reaching as her talent as a composer! Although I have clearly said that spelt is a wheat and should be avoided by anyone with celiac disease, it may very well be that spelt is indeed a healing grain and that these healing properties are the reason so many people have made spelt their grain and flour of choice.

For its part, Dr. Kracker Enterprises is extending its reach and moving full speed ahead with spelt baking. We are identifying ways to combine the nutritious power of seeds and the abundant fiber in grain to make food both delicious and healthy. Our new Seedlander, Muesli, Sunflower Cheese, and Krispy Grahams are 100 percent whole-grain spelt and pack two to four grams of fiber per serving. We will continue our efforts to please palates, improve nutrition, and, if possible, to help those on restricted diets to savor the best Nature has to offer. We respect our heritage, we seek to preserve it, and we share it as generously and inclusively as we can, now and in the future.

The weekend of April 8^th and 9^th was very busy for the doctor. First was the diabetes show in Dallas. This was my first diabetes show, although we have sent other members of Dr. Kracker to these show. Because of its whole grain content and relatively low carbohydrate profile, Dr. Kracker is good food for diabetics. My impression is that this type of event is generally a showcase for companies offering medicine, treatments and information. It is not a food show. This usually means lots of traffic at the Dr. K booth since folks get hungry walking around the show, and Dr. Kracker stands out.