Nutrition

Most Unhealthy Meals Served by America’s Fast Food Chains

Nutrition

by Jonathan Berr

From California, to the New York island; from the redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters, this land is filled with fatties, lard butts and people large enough to have their own gravitational fields. Yes, America is the land of the “large and in charge,” and one of the main reasons for it is our love of fast food.

Though it’s tempting to put all of the blame for America’s obesity crisis on the fast-food industry — and experts say they’re at least partly at fault — it’s important to view it in context. The industry came of age during the 1950s, as suburban communities saw their populations skyrocket and social mores began changing as women began to increasingly work outside the home. Some of the savviest entrepreneurs in American corporate history sprang into action.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD – News) started the trend in 1955 when businessman Ray Kroc wondered how the McDonald Brothers sold so many burgers at their Southern California burger joint. He opened his first McDonald’s Drive-In in Des Plaines, Ill. There are now more than 32,000 restaurants that are home to the Golden Arches. Col. Harlan Sanders began franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952. Five years later, Sanders began selling chicken in the signature buckets, and today there are more than 15,000 KFC outlets. James McLamore and David Edgerton founded Burger King in 1954, when, as the company’s website notes, “flame-broiled beef begins fulfilling its destiny.” There are more than 12,500 Burger Kings today. Glen W. Bell Jr. opened the first Taco Bell in 1962 with an investment of $4,000 and eventually sold the chain to PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP –News) in 1978. At that time, there were 868 Taco Bells. Today, there are nearly 6,000. At the tender age of 17, Fred DeLuca co-founded Subway Restaurants in 1965. They have 32,800 locations today.

Fast-forward to the beginning of the of the 21st century, and many of the same trends that helped create the modern fast food industry are still helping fuel its growth. Many children, especially racial minorities, live in single-parent households — a whopping 65 percent of non-Hispanic black children and 37 percent of Hispanic children as of 2007,according to Kids Count. Mothers are working outside the home at much higher rates than years past. Women comprised 46.8 percent of the total U.S. labor force in 2009 and are projected to account for 46.9 percent of the labor force in 2018, accounting for 51.2 percent of the increase in total labor force growth during the same period. Add to this mix high unemployment rates caused by the uncertainty of the worldwide economy, and the allure of fast, cheap food becomes hard to resist.

And therein lies the problem.

Obesity rates are a public health crisis. They have tripled among children since 1980. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. People who are obese are vulnerable to everything from diabetes to heart disease, resulting in some $147 billion in direct medical costs annually.

Determining how much fast food is at fault for the poor state of the health of many Americans “is impossible to quantify, but is definitely a factor,” says Christina Munsell, research assistant at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, in an interview. The increase in obesity “definitely would correlate with eating quicker meals that are easier to obtain.”

In order to create the rankings, 24/7 Wall St. examined the menus of the top 10 restaurant brands in the quick service category by sales as determined by QSR, an industry publication, looking for items that were the highest in calories, carbohydrates, sodium and saturated fat. We then ranked them against the nutritional guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A couple of important caveats to consider: Not all food sold at fast food restaurants is unhealthy. The industry aggressively promotes healthier choices on their menus. Subway, for one, makes a special point of doing this, even though its footlong subs are not healthy choices. Moreover, experts point out that some items sold at sit-down restaurants are actually much more unhealthy than many fast food items. Fast food, though, has gained ground during the economic slowdown, while casual and fine dining chains have suffered. McDonald’s alone earned $24.58 billion in revenue in 2010. Yum Brands! Inc. (NYSE: YUM – News), parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, made $11.42 billion.

Methodology: We derived the rankings by taking the average nutritional ratings of menu items compared with USDA recommendations. Carbohydrates, saturated fat, and sodium were given the most weight. Calories and protein were also considered.

1. Pizza Hut Triple Meat Italiano

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1280 (49%)
• Saturated Fat: 23g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 123 (38%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 3,070mg (133%)

Pizza — plain with cheese and sauce — is not particularly unhealthy. This gastronomical overkill featuring “all-natural pepperoni, all-natural Italian sausage and baked ham” is terrible. Pizza Hut offers plenty of healthier choices.

2. Subway 12″ Italian B.M.T

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 900 (35%)
• Saturated Fat: 16g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 94 (27%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 3,000 mg (130%)

It’s easy to see why Subway does not list this sandwich under its “low fat footlongs” on its website. It has a whopping 3,000 mg of salt, 130% of the recommended allotment in a daily diet. “The problem with Subway is the portion size,” Munsell says, adding that the problem with this sandwich is the salty luncheon meats. Subway is getting the message about salt. As an April USA Today article noted, “Beginning today, sodium content in Subway’s ‘Fresh Fit’ sandwich line in the U.S. will be cut 28% vs. 2009, when Subway first began to cut salt. And sodium in its overall sandwich line will be cut by 15%, compared with the same period.”

3. KFC Chicken Pot Pie

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 790 (30%)
• Saturated Fat: 37g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 66 (20%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,970mg (86%)

Salty and high in calories, there is little positive that can be said about the KFC Chicken Pot Pie. A Yum! Brands spokesman had this to say: “It’s all about providing our consumers with choices, and each of our brands has introduced products that are lower in calories and fat, such as KFC’s Kentucky Grilled Chicken, Pizza Hut’s Thin ‘N Crispy Pizzas and salads and Taco Bell’s Drive Thru Diet Menu with seven items less than 9 grams of fat.”

In other words, diners have a choice whether they eat something with almost a full day’s allotment of sodium in one sitting.

4. Sonic SuperSONIC Bacon Double Cheeseburger with Mayo

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,370 (53%)
• Saturated Fat: 36g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 55 (17%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,610mg (70%)

The name alone should make a diner want to grab a fistful of Lipitor. Those brave enough to chow down on this 1,370-calorie monstrosity probably shouldn’t eat much for the rest of the day. Once a regional operator in the South and Midwest, Sonic (Nasdaq: SONC –News) now operates in over 3,500 locations.

5. McDonald’s Angus Chipotle BBQ Bacon

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 800 (31%)
• Saturated Fat: 18g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 66 (18%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 2,020mg (88%)

The Angus Chipotle is big and has bacon, two red flags for any dieter. “It’s problematic,” says Munsell, adding that the Golden Arches have borne the brunt of negative publicity about fast food. That’s unfair. “We did find that McDonald’s did have more healthy options” than other chains, she adds. Indeed, it ended its Super Size promotion a few years ago, no doubt spurred by the publicity surrounding the movie “Super Size Me.”

6. Taco Bell XXL Grilled Stuft Beef Burrito

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 880 (34%)
• Saturated Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 94 (26%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 2,130mg (93%)

Taco Bell has mastered the art of blending meats and cheese in ever-creative caloric combinations. The XXL Grilled Stuft Beef Burrito is a monument to gluttony. Taco Bell calls it its “biggest burrito yet.” It has “a blend of three cheeses — cheddar, pepper jack and mozzarella — flavorful seasoned rice, hearty beans, reduced-fat sour cream, chunky guacamole, avocado ranch and fiesta salsa, wrapped up in a warm flour tortilla.” Taco Bell’s sales have been hurt by the publicity surrounding the quality of its beef.

7. Wendy’s Triple

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,030 (40%)
• Saturated Fat: 28g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 43 (18%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,800mg (78%)

Anyone eating this monstrosity might not realize that the USDA recommends that people eat a portion of meat roughly the size of deck of cards. This Wendy’s monster burger clocks in at a whopping 423 grams. Wendy’s (NYSE: WEN – News) has struggled for years against larger rivals. It unloaded its underperforming Arby’s chain earlier this week to private-equity group Roark Capital Group. Wendy’s did not respond to a request for comment.

8. Subway Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 750 (28%)
• Saturated Fat: 2.5g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 117 (41%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,810 mg (79%)

Subway unhealthy? In some cases, the answer is “yes.” While this sandwich is low in calories and fat, it is high in salt. The portions of Subway’s footlong sandwiches are too large, Munsell notes. Subway did not respond to a request for comment.

9. Burger King Triple Whopper with Cheese

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,180 (44%)
• Saturated Fat: 30g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 52 (16%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,330mg (58%)

The Triple Whopper makes the Quarter Pounder with Cheese seem like health food. At 1,180 calories, it packs more than twice the punch of the McDonald’s burger, which has 535 calories. In a statement to 24/7 Wall St., the company referred to the Triple Whopper as an “indulgent option for our guests.” Burger King says it encourages customers to eat healthy choices that provide 650 calories or less — approximately one-third of a 2,000-calorie diet.

10. Wendy’s Baconator Double

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 930 (36%)
• Saturated Fat: 25g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 41 (13%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,840mg (80%)

Who says you can never have too much bacon? Anyone with sense, that’s who. Rudd’s Munsell noted with amusement how fast food chains “combine every type of meat on one sandwich.” The Baconator was relentlessly hyped for a while. A Wendy’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

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10 diet and exercise myths that pack on pounds

Nutrition, Training

1. “Strength training will bulk me up.”
First, let’s tackle the myth that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat. A pound is a pound is a pound—whether it’s made up of muscle or fat. That said, muscle is denser than fat and takes up less room, so two women who weigh the same can look much different if one has a higher ratio of lean muscle mass to fat, says Valentour. “Muscle weight is a good weight because you look firmer, smaller, and more fit. It’s also more metabolically active, so just having more muscle will boost metabolism throughout the day to help keep you leaner.”

It’s important to incorporate strength training into your routine so you burn calories at an optimal rate all day long—and using heavier weights could help maximize your efforts. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that working out with heavy weights even for as few as 3 to 6 repetitions increased exercisers’ sleeping metabolic rate—the number of calories burned overnight—by nearly 8%. That’s enough to lose about 5 pounds in a year, even if you did nothing else!

2. “I exercise every day, so I can eat whatever I want.”
The sad truth: Even if you work out religiously, going to yoga several times a week and sweating it out in Spinning, it’s not a license to eat as much as you want and still expect to lose weight. This may seem obvious, but the desire to reward a workout well done is natural; after all, you endured those endless vinyasas—you deserve an extra slice of pizza (or three), right? Not if you’re trying to lose weight.

“You can outeat your workout,” says Valentour. Even though you burn calories and fat when you exercise, it’s often not as much as you think—or what the readout on the treadmill tells you.
Valentour recommends eating 250 fewer calories per day and aiming to burn an extra 250 calories a day; that creates enough of a calorie deficit to achieve an average weight loss of a pound a week.

3. “It’s harder for women to lose weight than for men.”
Okay, this one has some basis. Biologically, men are built with more lean muscle mass (the compact, tight muscles that keep metabolism humming) than women are—meaning his metabolism is working at a 5 to 10% higher rate (even if he’s the same height and weight as you) when you’re lying on the couch together.   Annoying, isn’t it?

Another biological challenge women face is that we generally have more body fat than men do, and our bodies are more inclined to store it.   On top of that, women lose about 1/2 pound of calorie-burning muscle mass a year during perimenopause and sometimes a pound a year during menopause.   With the deck stacked against you, why bother trying to fit back in your skinny jeans?

You can do something about these problems, but it’s going to take some work—and sweat. Add strength training to your fitness routine at least twice a week   to shed fat and build lean muscle mass that will fire up your resting metabolism.

4. “All calories are equal, so it doesn’t matter what I eat.”
Ever since you learned what a calorie is, you’ve been told that they’re all alike: Whether you eat 500 calories’ worth of celery stalks or crème brûlée, your body will burn or store them equally, right? Wrong. New science shows that when it comes to weight loss, calories are nowhere near alike.

Some foods take more work to eat—and therefore burn more calories while you’re digesting them. Just the act of chewing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean cuts of meat can increase your calorie burn by up to 30%! And then your stomach and intestines do their jobs. In a Japanese study, researchers found that women who ate the foods that required the most work had significantly slimmer waistlines than those who ate the softest, easiest-to-eat foods. The fiber and protein in such foods take so much effort to digest that your body ’doesn’t absorb some of their calories.

5. “Eating fat will make me fat.”
Fat-free products are so-o-o over. There’s nothing special about fat that packs on pounds: Getting enough fat in your diet—the Institute of Medicine recommends that it make up 20 to 35% of calories—is essential for good health, but the type of fat matters.

Monounsaturated fats—MUFAs (pronounced MOO-fahs), for short—come from the healthy oils found in plant foods such as olives, nuts, and avocados. A report published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that a MUFA-rich diet helped people lose small amounts of weight and body fat without changing their calorie intakes. Another report found that a breakfast high in MUFAs could boost calorie burn for 5 hours after the meal, particularly in people with higher amounts of belly fat.   Pair these delicious healthy fats with a reduced-calorie eating plan and you’ll lose weight and reduce belly fat.

6. “Eating at night will make me gain weight.”
Cutting out nighttime snacking is a popular weight loss strategy because it feels logical—eat less when you’re less active. But this topic has been debated for years, and even recently, a study in the April 2011 journal Obesity suggested that eating after 8 pm may increase the risk of obesity, but there aren’t clear-cut reasons why.

It’s mainly how much you eat—not when you eat—each day that affects weight gain. Many people eat at night out of boredom or other emotions instead of hunger, and they wind up consuming more calories than they need for the day—calories that are then stored as fat. Also, people who eat at night may wake up without an appetite and skip breakfast, the meal that helps control calorie intake throughout the day.

To ward off nighttime hunger, eat dinner an hour later, suggests Marjorie Nolan, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. You’ll save calories by curbing the urge to nosh in front of the TV. “Having dinner a little bit later—but at least 2 hours before sleeping—helps prevent mindless snacking, which often happens in the evening,” says Nolan.

7. “Drinking a ton of water will help me drop pounds.”
Stop hogging the office watercooler (and running to the loo). It’s possible that drinking water can aid weight loss efforts, but it won’t automatically make you lose weight if you’re not changing any other habits. A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study found that people who regularly drink water eat nearly 200 fewer calories daily than those who consume only coffee, tea, or soda.   And if you sip water instead of sugary drinks, the calories you’ve saved will help shed pounds.  Drinking ice-cold water can help you burn more calories too. German researchers found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day raised resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily—possibly because of the work it takes to warm the fluid up to body temperature. It’s up to you to decide whether 50 calories is worth guzzling ice water—or whether it would be easier just to take the stairs.

8. “Becoming a vegetarian will help me drop a size.”
Eliminating meat from your diet can result in great health benefits, but if you don’t follow a vegetarian diet properly, you could accidentally pack on pounds.

Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet, explains common vegetarian beginners’ mistakes that may cause weight gain. Vegetarian “types” to avoid becoming:

  • Cheese-aholic vegetarians: They cut out meat from their diets and turn to cheese as a protein source. But cheese is a high-calorie, high-fat food and should be eaten in moderation.
  • Faux-meat fixators: All they eat is boxes of frozen faux meats, such as soy chicken nuggets, vegetarian sausage links, and veggie bacon strips. These products are okay once in a while, but they are heavily processed and can have a lot of sodium, resulting in bloating and water retention.
  • No-veggie vegetarians: A lot of vegetarians don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. They eat only grains, beans and veggie burgers, all of which can be high in calories.
  • Same-meal-minus-the-meat vegetarians: These people eat the same meals they did before, but without the meat. If they’re not replacing the protein, they’ll probably have a ferocious appetite and may be missing out on essential nutrients.
  • “Vegetarian” food label fans: These people find any recipe or packaging that contains the word “vegetarian” or “meatless” and then overeat that food. They often wind up taking in too much junk food. Be aware that the word “vegetarian” is not synonymous with “healthy” or “low calorie.”

Blatner recommends replacing meat with beans in recipes for an easy, healthy—and inexpensive—protein source. She advises new vegetarians—and those who want to dabble in a vegetarian diet—to start having fun with vegetarian recipes. “Find ones you like that you’re going to keep eating. Enjoy the journey of it.”

9. “Subbing diet soda and diet foods is a smart way to lose.”
Chugging cans of diet soda and eating prepackaged diet foods may seem like a no-brainer way to trick your body into pound-shedding mode because they have few or no calories—but it’s not going to give you lasting results.

Diet soda may increase your risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that includes high levels of belly fat, blood sugar, and cholesterol. People who consumed just one diet soda daily had a 34% higher risk of the syndrome than those who abstained, according to a University of Minnesota study of nearly 10,000 adults ages 45 to 64.

What you’re trying to do when you eat diet foods and drink diet soda is to cheat your body, says Ashley Koff, RD, resident dietitian on the new Lifetime show   Love Handles: Couples in Crisis. “The body is physiologically smarter than your ability to override it. If you use one of those things as your tool, you’re always going to need that. And you might be getting weight loss results but no health benefits.” She says many people eventually get frustrated that they became dependent on these products.

“My approach across the board is that the best thing you can do is be a ‘qualitarian,’” says Koff. “Choose the best-quality foods available. The diet versions will have fewer calories than the quality versions, but they’ll also have fewer nutrients.”

10. “Weight gain and belly fat are unavoidable after 40.”

Let’s be honest here: You’re not going to wake up on your 40th birthday with a gut and 10 extra pounds on your frame. It does get harder to lose weight as we age, but you can put some healthy habits into practice now to maintain your weight—or even lose—as the years pass by.

The years leading up to menopause, known as perimenopause, are prime time for weight gain: On average, women put on a pound a year, mostly around the waist, according to the Mayo Clinic. Out-of-whack hormones and a slowing metabolism are a couple of the weight gain culprits.

But reaching menopause doesn’t have to mean getting plumper. Studies show that the more you work out, the slimmer you’ll be, even during this transition time. Keep your diet in check and you’ll boost your results.

Fine-tune your workouts and eating habits to shed those pounds—and keep ’em off—with these tips:

Exercise at least 4 hours a week: That amount helped nearly 44,000 women in their 40s or early 50s achieve weight loss instead of weight gain during a 10-year American Cancer Society study.

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3 Scenarios – Who Burns More Fat?

1 Comment / Nutrition, Training

We’ve discussed several different ways to create a 300 calorie deficit:

  • Skip the morning bagel (-300 calories)
  • Walk on the treadmill for an hour and half (-300 calories)
  • Perform a very high intensity interval session (-300 calories)

In all 3 instances, the net calorie burn is -300 cals; however, as mentioned in the previous post, scenario 1 sucks, scenario 2 really sucks, and scenario 3 trumps them all–by far.

And today I want to share 3 other “scenarios” with you, with yet another lesson to be learned.

Out of the below 3 individuals, who will burn more fat and achieve better, faster results?

Scenario #1 – Subject A

  • Basal Metabolic Rate of 2,000 calories
  • No additional calories burned per day through exercise
  • Total calories burned: 2,000
  • Dietary intake: 1,300
  • Deficit: -700 calories

Scenario #1 – Subject B

  • Basal Metabolic Rate of 2,000 calories
  • Additional 200 calories burned per day through exercise
  • Total calories burned: 2,200
  • Dietary intake: 1,500
  • Deficit: -700 calories

Scenario #1 – Subject C

  • Basal Metabolic Rate of 2,000 calories
  • Additional 600 calories burned per day through exercise
  • Total calories burned: 2,600
  • Dietary intake: 1,900
  • Deficit: -700 calories

Paying careful attention to the 3 scenarios above, you see that Subject A, Subject B, and Subject C all have a Basal Metabolic Rate of 2,000 calories, and all subjects are creating a -700 caloric deficit daily.

Who will be more successful?

If fat loss were simply a mathematical phenomenon, then all three subjects would have equal success and would experience the same exact fat loss.

But, just in case you didn’t already know, there’s MUCH more to fat loss than just the numbers.

Fat loss, by and large, is largely hormonal (yes, I’m aware, that was redundant).  Indeed, a caloric deficit must be in place for fat loss to occur, but not all deficits are “equal”.

Subject A, while still being negative 700 calories, is creating a hormonal environment in the body resistance to fat loss.  Subject B is slightly better, but still far from optimal.

Subject C is the clear winner here.  Although Subject C is creating the same exact numerical -700 calorie deficit, this individual will without a doubt experience greater fat loss and overall results.

Why?

When you decrease calorie intake, the body’s anti-starvation mechanisms are alerted and it creates a hormonal environment conducive to fat storage.

So, 1) if you need to create a calorie deficit to burn fat, but 2) you DON’T want to drastically reduce calorie intake for the reasons mentioned, what are your options?

It’s called G-flux, or energy flux.

Eat more.  Exercise more.  Lose more.

It really is THAT simple.

Simply put, the more calories you burn through exercise (versus a dietary caloric deficit), the greater your fat loss results will be.  Every.  Single. Time.

Fat burning enzymes will be elevated, the body will remain happy from a nutritional stanpoint, and let’s fact it, eating an additional 600 calories per day is a lot more livable from a psychological standpoint than attempting to create a large caloric deficit through diet alone.

My challenge to you:  Starting this week, on top of what you are already currently doing, add an additional 300 calories to your daily diet, and strive to burn an additional 300 calories via exercise.

 

Thanks joel

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The Loopholes of Food Labeling

Nutrition

What Food Manufacturers Don’t Want You to Know

— By Tanya Jolliffe, Healthy Eating Expert and Nicole Nichols, Health Educator

When you’re shopping in the grocery store, you may notice that food packages are always labeled with the latest buzz words. When the new food guide pyramid touted the importance of whole grains for example, suddenly words and logos for “whole grains” plastered the fronts of cereal boxes, crackers, breads and even cookies! Now with the media’s attention on the harmful effects of trans fats, many food manufacturers are trying to draw your attention to the fact that their product is free of trans fats. No matter what the fad is—low-carb, fat-free, organic, or heart-healthy—manufacturers will try to lure you into buying their product. But, while food manufacturers can’t lie to you about the nutrition and ingredients of their products, they can easily mislead you into thinking something is healthier than it really is.

Reading and understanding a nutrition label doesn’t require a degree in nutrition, but it does require that you look beyond the fancy claims on the front of the box. If you know how to read between the lines of the marketing spin, you too can know how to make the most nutritious choices without having to read the fine print.

By law, food labels must be truthful. But manufactures can pick and choose which facts to highlight and spin. As a consumer, your best option is to disregard the claims on the front of the package because, while they may be true, it may not tell you the whole story.

Here’s a list of the most popular food package claims used by food manufacturers—and what they really mean for you and your health.

“Natural”
The word “natural” is not regulated by the FDA and therefore is very misleading. Sure “natural” brings to mind thoughts of fresh, minimally processed and healthy food, but it means nothing about a food’s nutritional content, ingredients, safety, or health effects. Almost all packaged foods today are processed in some way. Natural potato chips may use real potatoes (instead of flakes), for example, but like regular potato chips, they are still a high-fat food choice with little nutritional content. Natural candy may be sweetened with cane juice (instead of white sugar), but it can still contribute to weight gain when eaten in excess.

“Made with Real Fruit” or “Contains Real Fruit Juice”
You see “made with real fruit” frequently on fruit snacks, fruity cookies and cereals, and fruit drinks. Since there is no law that requires how much real fruit has to be included in a food that uses this claim, the sugary treat could contain just one grape or one drop of orange juice to be accurate. However, a quick look at the ingredients list will show you what you need to know. When high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar are listed as the first ingredients, you know that the “real fruit” content of the product isn’t significant. This is sugary junk food that is trying to masquerade as healthy—but now you know better!

“Whole Grains”
This is one of the most popular marketing claims of late, and the most confusing. Today we see “whole grain” logos on almost all grain products, including sugary breakfast cereals. The reality is that refined white flour—with just a touchof whole wheat added back in—can be listed as “whole grain.” A food manufacturer can use the term “whole grain” no matter how much whole wheat the product contains. What the various “whole grain” terms actually mean may surprise you:

  • “Made with Whole Grains”: All it needs is one tiny bit of whole grains to use this claim, which means nothing for your health.
  • “Wheat flour” or “100 percent wheat”: Again, this is a ploy that tries to fool consumers. You want to look for “whole wheat flour” or “100 percent whole wheat”, not just the word “wheat.”
  • “Multigrain”: This doesn’t explain whether the grains are refined or whole, just that there is more than one type of grain. Multigrain has no proven health benefits, especially if all those grains are refined, and they probably are (unless the ingredients list proves otherwise).
  • “Whole grain”: This term is also misleading, because whole grains can contain various blends of grains that are refined. You want to avoid words like enriched and bleached on the ingredients label. You can only trust the term “100 percent whole grain” to be a healthy choice.
  • “X Grams of Whole Grains”: Don’t let the grams of whole grains in a food confuse you. A food can claim that it’s a “Good Source” of whole grains, but that does not mean it’s high in fiber (it may have little to none).

When it comes to grain-based foods, you can’t trust the words on the face of the package. Double-check and look at the ingredients list every time, looking for keywords like “whole wheat flour” to be first on the list. Additives like sugar and corn syrup shouldn’t appear in the top of the ingredients list of a healthy food. If a food is high in whole grains, it’ll have protein and fiber to boot. Be aware that manufacturers won’t necessarily call their processed flours “refined” on the label. Anything that is listed as corn, rice, wheat, or oat flour IS processed and refined unless it specifically tells you that it is “whole”.

“Fat Free“
“Fat-free” food labels may also tempt you to believe these are healthier food selections. Sometimes this can be helpful, like when choosing skim milk over higher fat varieties. But take the time to read labels. When a meat label boasts that it’s 95% fat free, it sounds like a healthy choice since only 5 percent of it is fat. But fat contains a lot of calories, so check out the nutrition facts label for the actual number of calories and fat grams per serving.

An example of an unhelpful fat-free claim is a carton of 100% orange juice. Here, a fat-free claim isn’t helpful labeling, even though it is truthful. Oranges are naturally fat-free, so 100% orange juice always has and always will be fat-free, regardless of whether it is highlighted on the label or not.

“Zero Trans Fats”
Thanks to recent media attention, you probably know that trans fats are bad for your health. Experts recommend that people avoid trans fats, which are created when oils are hydrogenated during food processing. But you can’t trust a product’s claim of zero trans fats, nor can you trust the nutrition facts label on this one. Always read the ingredients list. If the words “partially hydrogenated” appear in it at all, then the food DOES contain trans fats. But thanks to labeling guidelines, any food that contains 0.5 grams or less of a nutrient can be listed as zero grams on the nutrition facts label.

This may seem insignificant, but it does add up. Think about a box of cookies. It says “zero trans fats” on the front of the box and on the nutrition facts label, but it lists “partially hydrogenated oils” in the ingredients list. This food can contain up to 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving, yet the labeling is legit. Over time, when you consume the 6, 10, or 20 servings of cookies in the box, you’ll consume 3, 5, or 10 grams of trans fats. Since there is no safe level of trans fat consumption, this food is not good for your health.

Making Healthy Choices
Most of your food choices should come from whole, unprocessed sources: fresh meat, beans and legumes, real fruits and vegetables, calcium-rich foods like dairy, oats and other whole grains. Remember that you can’t make nutritious food selections based solely on the marketing phrases on the front of a package. These buzz words are meant to catch your attention and are put there by marketing gurus so that you’ll buy their product. Once you’ve looked at the package, ask yourself, “Does this food company have my health in mind?” The more processed a food is, the less reliable the claims on its package become.

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One – Day Diet Solutions

Nutrition

Spanx can solve a lot of life’s problems, but they can’t make you look better in your birthday suit. Nor can they tame PMS, perk you up after one too many cocktails, or keep you revved in bed. But the right foods can.

Don’t let the dreaded D-word throw you off. These daylong diets aren’t about deprivation or even losing weight; they’re about noshing on the right nutrients so that you’ll look better and feel better—fast.

“We Leave for a Romantic Getaway Tomorrow” Diet

Your sexual vitality depends on eating foods that are rich in the amino acid L-arginine, says Robert Fried, Ph.D., senior professor of biopsychology at Hunter College and coauthor of Great Food, Great Sex. Found in nuts, poultry, and seafood, this sexual secret weapon promotes healthy blood flow to the sex organs so you can experience maximum pleasure.

Also, devouring heavy foods before the big lovefest can weigh you down and divert blood flow away from your sexual regions. Reach for lighter fare that balances carbs (for energy), protein (for stamina), and healthy fats (which your body uses to produce testosterone and estrogen, the two hormones that keep your libido running nicely).

What to Eat
Breakfast Oatmeal + walnuts + dried cranberries

Snack Celery + peanut butter

Lunch Garden salad + chicken + olive oil dressing

Dinner Whole-wheat pasta and shrimp tossed in olive oil + fresh-berry dessert

“I’m in PMS Hell” Diet

Premenstrual mood swings and crazy cravings come down to a shortage of the brain chemical serotonin, says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., coauthor of The Serotonin Power Diet. “The only thing that helps—and it helps instantly—is to eat carbs, because that’s the only way the brain makes new serotonin,” says Wurtman, who adds that the serotonin boosters need to be eaten straight with no fat or protein (think sweet potatoes or a whole-wheat English muffin without butter). No, this isn’t a license to go all-day carb crazy—just when your PMS tends to be at its worst, which is usually late afternoon and evening. “The rest of the day, fill up on fruits, vegetables, and protein, which can help curb your cravings and keep you satiated,” says registered nutritionist Joey Shulman, author of Healthy Sin Foods: Decadence Without the Guilt. Also, forgo salt and get more of the nutrients that have been linked with lessening those heinous that-time-of-the-month symptoms: magnesium (grains, nuts, greens), and calcium and vitamin D (dairy, fortified OJ).

What to Eat
Breakfast Cottage cheese + berries + fortified OJ

Lunch Spinach salad + salmon + low-fat milk

Snack Air-popped popcorn (no butter) drizzled with fat-free chocolate sauce

Dinner Whole-wheat pasta with garlic, mushrooms, and onions in a tomato sauce

“I Want to Look Fab on My Date Tonight” Diet

It’s one thing to look good in your little black dress, but it’s even more important to look good if it comes off. Certain food combos (protein plus carbs) can make the tummy tent up, says Esther Blum, R.D., author of Secrets of Gorgeous. So she recommends pairing protein with vegetables and fat, or carbs with veggies and fat. Banish bloat inducers such as beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carbonated drinks, and artificial sweeteners, and fill up on high-water foods instead (cucumber, watermelon, pureed soup). “These will hydrate the system and help flatten the stomach,” Shulman says. Bromelain, a digestive enzyme in pineapple, also works wonders by breaking down protein and amping up digestion. Got water-retention woes? Skip salt-laden foods (that includes all takeout) for potassium powerhouses like avocados and bananas, which will help get rid of the extra fluid. If constipation is the culprit, insoluble fiber found in fruit and wholegrain products can relieve you. Psst: Peppermint tea can decrease bloating gas and speed up digestion.

What to Eat
Breakfast Fruit smoothie (peaches, strawberries, banana, pineapple, yogurt)

Lunch Chicken Caesar salad with avocado

Snack Peppermint tea + cucumber sticks

Dinner Low-sodium soup + steamed salmon or chicken

“I Need to Be on Top of My Game for Work” Diet

Before a morning powwow, make sure you have some protein. “Otherwise you’re going to be brain dead,” Wurtman says. The amino acid tyrosine in protein makes you mentally alert. A latte lift and pastry pickme-up may seem like the answer, but “too much caffeine can make you jittery and could increase stress,” says Melina Jampolis, M.D., diet and fitness expert for CNN. Limit the caffeine and avoid clarity-clouding white stuff (white flour, white sugar, white pasta) in favor of complex carbs like bran muffins and whole-wheat bread. “They metabolize more slowly to keep your blood sugar and energy on an even keel,” says Cheryl Forberg, R.D., nutritionist for NBC’s The Biggest Loser. Studies also show that vitamin C may act as a chill pill and help you bounce back faster from high-pressure situations. Also, “iron deficiency can make you feel sluggish by decreasing your ability to carry energy-essential oxygen,” Jampolis says, so opt for iron-rich foods such as beans and lean beef.

What to Eat
Breakfast Scrambled egg whites + whole-wheat cereal + orange

Lunch Taco salad (salad greens + kidney beans + lean ground beef)

Snack Low-fat bran muffin + water

Dinner Turkey sandwich on whole-wheat bread + apple

“I Shouldn’t Have Had That Third Martini” Diet

After a big night out, you may feel more like praying to the porcelain god than eating, but the right food can pep you up and sideline those sangria-induced symptoms. Gay Riley, R.D., founder of NetNutritionist .com, suggests starting the day with a high-protein, low-carb breakfast paired with fresh vegetable juice to replenish energy. Korean researchers also give a hangover-nixing nod to asparagus, which boosts key enzymes that break down alcohol. Add more detox bang to your breakfast with turmeric-topped egg whites, suggests nutritionist Christine Avanti, author of Skinny Chicks Don’t Eat Salads. Curcumin, a bioflavonoid in turmeric, coupled with cysteine, an amino acid in eggs, helps mop up hangover-causing toxins such as acetaldehyde. Other morning-after picks include vitamins B6 and B12 (found in cereal and salmon) and headache-helping magnesium and potassium (in peanut butter and bananas). And despite what you may have heard, a Bloody Mary won’t help; the alcohol will only further tax your liver. But straight-up tomato juice is full of potassium, as well as alcohol-burning fructose. Also drink water or nausea-relieving ginger tea.

What to Eat
Breakfast Bacon + egg whites with turmeric + tomato juice

Lunch Fortified breakfast cereal with low-fat milk + ginger tea

Snack Greek yogurt + banana with peanut butter

Dinner Salmon + baked potato

One – Day Diet Solutions Read More »