It's barely 9 a.m. and the line at the counter at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in Roanoke is already snaking toward the door. The air inside the shop is warm and thick with the smell of sugary-sweetness. And large circular signs set ablaze in red neon hang in the windows, a beacon to all regulars who know the signal -- hot, glazed doughnuts coming off the line.

"When I'm coming down Melrose and see the red light, it makes me cut the wheel," said Randy Likens, 56, who described the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based chain as "having the best, hot, fattening doughnuts around."

So given the doughnut-maker's reputation, it may not seem like a surprise that when asked about Krispy Kreme's latest offering, a slightly healthier version of its deep-fried original, a 100 percent, whole-wheat doughnut, Likens was quick to reply that he isn't buying it -- literally.

"Whole wheat is probably healthy, so I'm not interested," he said.

Others consumers, however, are hungry for such alternatives, and Krispy Kreme, which released its all-wheat doughnut last month, is one of dozens of foodmakers releasing new whole-grain products aimed at feeding this demand.

The trend has gained unprecedented momentum in the last couple of years, say food industry observers, with an explosion of whole-grain offerings now being found on fast-food menus, in frozen food aisles, even seeping into snacks, pastas and junk food.

"That's all you hear these days is whole wheat," said Barbara Addison, 55, a Krispy Kreme customer who said she is looking forward to trying the whole-wheat variety.

In 2006, nearly 1,400 new products hit store shelves toting the whole-grain label, almost double the number that debuted last year, according to the Boston-based Whole Grains Council. Even Wonder Bread, the brand name synonymous with spongy, white slices, now offers several kinds of whole-wheat loaves, rolls and buns.

That's not bad for a gritty grain that was long relegated to products on the health-food aisle.

Sales for whole-grain foods have also climbed steadily over the past few years, from $700 million in 2002 to more than $1 billion in 2005. In the process, they've beaten sales figures for low-carbohydrate products, which peaked at $260 million in January 2005, according to data provided by the Parker, Colo.-based Wheat Foods Council.

Their popularity is partly being nudged on by the food industry. In 2004, cereal manufacturer General Mills declared that all of its products will include some whole grain, a move that triggered other food companies to do the same.

The following year, the federal government also gave the grains a push. In 2005, it released new dietary guidelines recommending that Americans make whole grains at least half their daily intake of grains. Whole-grain foods tend to pack more fiber, vitamins and minerals than their starch-heavy counterparts.

"There has been a shift over the last 10 years, a slow movement from avoiding things to adding things to your diet," said Harry Balzer, vice president of the NPD group, a Chicago-based marketing research firm that also tracks food trends.

Before, it was removing sugar, fat, sodium and cholesterol from foods, Balzer said, and in the 1980s and '90s, a lot of new products were introduced to accomplish that goal. But somewhere along the lines those solutions lost their allure, he said, and food companies began looking for something new.

"Generally, the way we address our health is taking the things we eat and eating the healthier version," Balzer said. Now, whole grains, he added, rank No. 1 among foods consumers say they want to add to their diet, along with antioxidants and dietary fibers.

In fact, whole-grain foods were once the standard for Americans, who in the early part of the 20th century, lacked the technology to refine grains, said Marcia Scheideman, president of the Wheat Foods Council. When a grain is refined, the bran and germ are removed, leaving behind the starchy kernel, or endosperm.

As the ability to separate these parts of the kernel became possible in the milling process, food manufacturers found they could make a lighter, higher-rising loaf from the processed white flour, she said. Eventually, those products became the standard and whole wheat fell out of fashion. Today, Americans on average eat less than one serving of whole grains a day, Scheideman said.

By leaving the grain kernel intact, the manufacturer is salvaging nutrients that would otherwise be taken out. That means that whole grains are typically richer in dietary fiber and antioxidants. They also retain minerals such as magnesium and vitamins B and E. Whole-wheat bread, for instance, contains four times the fiber of white bread.

Some research studies have also linked eating whole grains regularly with reducing the risks of heart disease, lowering cholesterol and boosting the immune system.

Even so, whole grains are by no means a dietary cure-all, said Bonnie Liebman, director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer watchdog group, and consumers must be careful not to oversell themselves on the actual health benefits of these products.

"You're probably better off with a whole-grain doughnut. But don't kid yourself, it's not a bowl of broccoli," she said.

When it comes to shedding pounds, there has been some evidence that people who eat whole grains gain less weight, she said. However, a whole-grain diet alone is not going to perform any weightloss miracles, she added.

Controversy has also surfaced over labeling whole-grain products, and so has some consumer confusion. The food industry has yet to settle on a standard -- meaning that while some packages claim to be a good source of whole grains, in actuality, they contain a very small portion of the grains in relation to the total serving, Liebman said.

"Most people don't think about the numbers," Liebman said. "They see the word 'whole grain' and think, 'it is good for me,' and companies are banking on this misconception."

As for Krispy Kreme's newest doughy addition, Liebman regarded it as a step in the right direction, but not an excuse to overdo it. At 180 calories, this all-wheat doughnut, which incidentally is still fried and glazed, has 20 calories less the original glazed.

So far, the Roanoke store is selling about 240 to 600 whole-wheat doughnuts a day, said Mike Jennings, Krispy Kreme's general manager. By contrast, the Roanoke store might sell more than 1,000 of its original glazed in a day, he said.

"It's 20 calories," Jennings said in comparing the wheat with the original glazed doughnut. "For some people that means a lot." He said the wheat also has a different taste, like "a pancake with maple syrup," that appeals to a certain group of customers.

Take Daleann Eanes, a 53-year-old Roanoke resident, who one recent weekday morning was leaving Krispy Kreme clutching two white boxes of piping-hot original glazed doughnuts -- for her husband, of course.

She said she is a fan of the whole-wheat doughnuts because they are less filling and give her more energy.

"This one here is going to fatten him up," she said, pointing to the boxed doughnuts. Though not buying the wheat doughnuts on this day, she still endorses them: "The whole wheat speaks for itself."

Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme's competitor from the North, also has its version of the wheat glazed doughnut. It's cake-like, denser and heavier than Krispy Kreme's yeast-raised dough variety -- and weighs in at a hefty 310 calories.

First introduced in the 1970s, Dunkin' Donut's wheat doughnut is by no means the Canton, Mass.-based chain's biggest seller, said spokesman Andrew Mastrangelo. Nor could he say if it was added to the menu as a healthier alternative to its other doughnut varieties.

"We have a number of menu items that are healthy alternatives, but none of them are doughnuts," he said.

Manufacturers, too, are searching out other ways to bulk up their products with more nutrition. And while whole grains may be the frontrunner right now, Balzer said, many other supplements are also catching on -- Omega 3 fatty acids, dietary fiber and antioxidants.

Balzer is also seeing the rise of what is perhaps the next wave of nutritional additives, probiotics, a dietary supplement that contains good yeast or bacteria helpful in regulating digestion. One example is a new yogurt drink by Dannon called DanActiva, he said.

Even Krispy Kreme is plowing ahead in its quest to give its health-savvy customers a more nutritious alternative. In a couple months, it will introduce a multi-grain doughnut, Jennings said.

"We keep looking for the answer to this dilemma of eating healthy but eating foods we enjoy," Balzer said.

At the same time, a nutritious deep-fried doughnut may seem like a tall order.

"That's an oxymoron," Likens said as he stood at the counter, waiting for his white box of hot glazed originals.

"Health-conscious people eating doughnuts," he said, chuckling to himself. "I've been eating these fresh hot doughnuts for 45 years and I'm a healthy as a horse."