Grains have gotten a bad rap in light of recent low carb and keto diets, but what’s the real deal? Are grains to be avoided completely, or is there a place for them in a balanced diet? Today’s show will clear up the confusion about grains and set the record straight. My guest is Christine Cochran, Executive Director of the Grain Foods Foundation. I met Christine at a conference back in January, and I’m thrilled to get to the bottom of the grain dilemma with her in today’s show. Christine lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband, three kids, and a new puppy.  Show Highlights: Christine’s background in agricultural economics, traveling and working on farms in Costa Rica and the Czech Republic, and her work at the US Embassy in Nigeria The Grain Foods Foundation, established in 2004; their mission is to provide science-based messaging on the nutritional benefits of grains Grain foods include corn rice, oats, faro, and quinoa--not just wheat How grains are the main source of protein in other countries, but only about 16% of the American diet A gluten-free diet can still include grains like rice, corn, amaranth, buckwheat, tamarind, millet, quinoa, sorghum, wild rice, teff, and oats (although you have to be careful about the processing of oat products) Why wheat is NOT a GMO product Why carbs are getting a bad rap in today’s nutrition circles Why diets of moderation should include grains because they provide fiber, B vitamins, and minerals The forms of wheat as it comes to the food supply: whole milling, flour milling, and cracked milling How a whole grain is made up of the germ, bran, and endosperm The difference in whole wheat flour and refined flour Why “enriched” and “fortified” are important distinctions in flour Why the USDA recommends making ½ your grains whole grains and the other ½ enriched The difference in staple grains and indulgent grains The versatility of grains, like my oven-dried tomatoes to add to pasta with pesto Christine’s favorite go-to pasta with seafood and asparagus How to read bread labels to find 100% whole grain Christine’s favorite grain additions for breakfast, lunch, and dinner Lightning Round:  How Christine uses couscous: mix with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and garlic to make a soup with ginger and spices How Christine uses basmati rice: make fried rice with carrots, peas, onion, soy sauce, garlic, and cilantro My recent minestrone soup with leftover tidbits from my fridge and pasta Why grains are good, nutritional, versatile, and social   Resources: Grain Foods Foundation:   https://grainfoodsfoundation.org/ Find the Grain Foods Foundation on social media: https://twitter.com/grainfoods https://www.facebook.com/GrainFoods https://www.instagram.com/grainfoodsfoundation/   Link to Melissa Joy Dobbins’ podcast, Sound Bites and her interview with Glenn Gaesser on refined grains:   https://www.soundbitesrd.com/podcast-episode-120-refined-grains-diabetes-guilt-by-association-dr-glenn-gaesser/