Fitness Friday: What’s Your Food Hiding From You?

I was hit by a huge shock at the pediatrician’s office today. Did you know that an 8oz glass of WHOLE milk has the same amount of fat as FOUR pats of butter?!? I mean I knew that there was more fat in whole milk then skim or even 2% milk but I did not realize that it was so much! This got me thinking – What other sneaky foods are there out there? What other foods are hiding behind the guise of health while we keep packing on the pounds.

The MisLabel!

First there are the foods that are simply misleading in their labeling. Did you know that according to FDA regulations a food can put “low fat” on their packaging if the food item contains 3 grams or less of fat PER SERVING! So what does the marketing department do? They decrease the serving size until 1 serving only has 3 grams of fat in it! This is why some foods have a serving size of 3 crackers, or 5 chips. But seriously, how many of you actually only eat 5 chips? So when you buy a product because it says “low fat” please flip it over and look at the Nutrition Facts. If the serving size is very small, or you know you will eat more then that in one sitting, look for another snack.

The Salad Debacle

I know what you are thinking – salads are healthy! A traditional garden salad is healthy. But more and more people are adding things to their salads that completely negates the healthy side. The number one debacle is crispy chicken instead of grilled chicken. Let me be blunt – Crispy means FRIED! The number two debacle is in the salad dressing. Almost every creamy salad dressing is chockfull of fat and calories. Try to stick with vinegrettes, with small amounts of oil in them. There are a number of other toppings that add up quickly – cheese, bacon bits, croutons, and eggs. So keep it in moderation when you are building your salad. Stick to the true veggies and you will be all right.

Extra Fatty Foods

Let me first point out that our body does need a certain amount of fat to survive. That is why many whole foods do have fat content. However, some have more then others and you need to be careful. Fish is a great food to eat on a regular basis, but people often make the mistake of lumping seafood in the same category. Most shellfish has rather high fat content by themselves, but we often prepare and serve them with a lot of fat (butter, for example). Avocados (which are a fruit by the way) have an incredible amount of fat content. Also every time a food (even fruits and veggies) are processed in some way – think dried, baked in or juiced – other items must be added to preserve or resweeten or otherwise alter the resulting flavor. So while a fresh pineapple ring is a great snack, a dried pineapple ring like has sugar coating and canned pineapple ring may have been sealed in heavy syrup.

Preparation

A lot of the ways we prepare foods complete defeat the purpose of eating healthy. Spinach sauted in bacon fat and maybe even chunks of bacon left in, really outweighs the pros (lots of vitamins and minerals) with the cons (lots and lots of fat!!) The bottom-line is read your labels and look at the meal as a whole.