You’ve got to forgive me, but during this holiday season, seems like my thoughts turn to food and all of the wonderful homemade dishes of this season. I do enjoy the great fellowship with family and friends, but alas, what would this be without something good to eat.

I love it all – turkey with dressing, ham and cranberries, mashed potatoes, green beans, wonderful cheeses and probably my favorite, freshly baked breads hot out of the oven. I can smell it now, if only I could eat some. I especially enjoy the heel.

You’ll never convince me bread isn’t the staff of life, healthy for you and so good. Still some physicians, diet conscious individuals and health fanatics have stopped eating bread. They contend it is fattening and unhealthy.

Quite the opposite is true if you visit with some nutritionists, bakers, physicians and those associated with culinary delights – you know the cooks, the people who spend those hours in the kitchen cooking, baking or grilling this wonderful food.

Bread is good for us. Bread is low in calories, high in fiber and starches, an excellent source of protein and this food contains vitamins and minerals our bodies need.

Two slices of bread contain only 140 to 150 calories. In today’s health conscious society, many individuals foresee bread only as a source of carbohydrates, but bread is much, much more.

Most nutritionists and health professionals believe our current dietary practices need this modification or shift to bread and other cereal grain products. Complex carbohydrates appear to be a valuable supplement in the management of disease. They also have a value of improving physical endurance, mental alertness and in controlling obesity.

All bread varieties belong in the diet. Americans may want to consider a shift to more bland-based foods for health reasons.

For decades, the United States has shown a tremendous decline in per capita use of flour. At one time, Americans consumed approximately 200 pounds per person. That figure has dropped to 100 pounds.

If the American public would realize that bread and other cereal grains are healthy they might increase the use of these products in their diets. Such a change could help increase the sales of wheat-based foods that in turn would help Kansas and American farmers.