As far as I know, it was the bread-lobby of Sweden that deliberately formulated a campaign to make like it came from some official source (in fact it refered to the Swedish FDA, and NOT our Department of health). The number "6-8 slices" came from re-calculating some flour-and-fibre figures used for standard reference purposes, but most Swedes still think it was an official campaign and many refer to it as THE example of how much Big Bro meddles with our private lives in this here country. The campaign was not entirely unsuccessful though: since 1970 Sweden has drastically increased it's consumption of pasta with only minor losses for the bread.

Eva! I'm also most surprised to hear you claim that wheat was not a common crop in Sweden until the 1930s. I own a few cookery-books from the early 1900s and they only contain recipes for wheat- or rye-bread; in fact when the simple word "flour" is used its clear from the context that they mean wheat-flour. As I've understood it, wheat was popularised (and fast too!) in Sweden as a cause of 1) foreign aid-shipments during the blights of the 1860s, 2) rising standards of living during Sweden's late but formidably fast industrialisation and 3) the general introduction into the middle-classes around 1870 of the continental coffee-culture. OK, so it doesn't push wheat back into the Middle ages, but I'm still intrigued. Comments?

Besides, y'all, according to "our creed" neither Hunzaic nor old Norse or "auld Scotch" choices of grains would mean much as far as tolerance is concerned, and no: barley is NOT gluten-free and neither are the ancient varieties of wheat: emmer, spelt and kamut. Relatively high in protein? You betcha, and THAT'S what you're getting if you choose to partake/ingest.
Best regards; EF

Eva Hedin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
In the 60's the Swedish department of Health had a slogan
saying: Eat 6-8 slices of bread every day.

I know that most Swedes don't know that wheat was a very small crop in Sweden till about 1900
wheat has only been common since the 1930'th.

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