Diet Food Imposters: Don’t Be Fooled

“Real fruit” beverages. That Fruitopia drink at the mall was a great way to get in a serving of fruit, right? Wrong. These drinks are only 5% fruit juice, and because they’re full of sugar, a 20-ounce bottle packs 300 or more calories – as much as a cream-filled doughnut! Have a box of 100% juice instead.

Poultry hot dogs. Unfortunately, just like pork and beef hot dogs, poultry dogs often include skin and fat, so they’re no healthier than their “authentic” counterparts. Opt for low-fat or fat-free franks instead. And no matter what variety you get, check the Nutrition Facts label for the real skinny on fat content.

Sugar-free cookies and candy. “No sugar” must mean fewer calories – or at least that’s what the manufacturers want you to think! But most sugar-free brands have as many calories as the regular kind. And too much of the sugar alcohols used to sweeten these products can cause diarrhea, and cramping. So indulge in the full-sugar brands in moderation.
Nutritional energy drinks. The body derives energy from calories, so that’s what these shakes deliver: 240 extra calories a day, enough to make you gain 1/2 lb a week. Take a daily multivitamin to get the vitamins without the spare tire, and have a real milkshake.

Complete salad kits. Salad-in-a-bag has been a lifesaver in many a busy mom’s kitchen, but they can pack a caloric wallop: up to 510 calories and 45 grams of fat in one package. Buy the light variety instead, or add your own low-fat or fat-free dressing at home.

Vegetable pizza-for-one. The veggies are healthy, all right. But the gobs and gobs of cheese they’re sitting on aren’t; they’re full of artery-clogging saturated fat. Look for low-fat versions, and be sure to check the saturated fat content so you can compensate elsewhere in your daily intake.

Bags of air-popped popcorn. Air popping adds no fat, so this is perfect for a night in front of the TV, right? Sure, if you pop it yourself. But manufacturers add the fat after the popping is done; that’s why the popcorn is butter- or cheese-flavored. Air-pop your own instead, or buy the light microwave kind.

Trail mix. It’s the perfect midafternoon snack, full of fruits and nuts, fiber, heart-healthy fat, and trace minerals. Why not down a whole bag? Because each 6-ounce pack contains at least 800 calories. You could have dinner for that! Make sure you’re only eating one serving (about three tablespoons) each time.

Reduced fat peanut butter. The fat that’s removed is replaced by carbohydrate filler, so there’s no reduction in calories. And the fat in peanut butter is the healthy monounsaturated kind. So scoop out your 2 tablespoons (about the size of a golf ball), and stick with the full-fat varieties. 

The daily consumption of vegetables and fruit combined with a diet consisting of wholegrain products, fish, beans and small amounts of alcohol can more than halve the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Researchers at Karolinska Institute have analysed the eating habits of 25,000 Swedish women and found two specific dietary patterns that correlate significantly with a healthy heart.

It is hardly the first time that a link has been studied between diet and the risk of cardiac arrest, for instance. What is new about this particular piece of research is that the scientists have unreservedly mapped out the women’s dietary habits instead of deciding in advance the kind of food they wanted to examine. Doing this, the researchers were able to identify two specific dietary patterns that were clearly linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

“The first was characterised by a high consumption of vegetables and fruit, and the second by the moderate consumption of alcohol; we’re talking about the equivalent of four vegetables and two pieces of fruit a day and half a glass of wine,” says Agneta Akesson, one of the scientists behind the study.

She stresses that the dietary patterns in question included the regular consumption of wholegrain products, fish and beans. Almost one third of the women in the study showed this healthier eating behaviour, which in turn gave a 57% lower risk of myocardial infarction than a diet low in these foodstuffs.

Using this dietary behaviour as a basis, the researchers added other health factors, such as a healthy body weight, abstinence from smoking, and regular exercise (by which was meant a daily walk of at least 40 minutes or a cycle ride, and one hour’s more intense training a week). All these conditions were met by only one in 20 women, who, it transpired, had a full 92% lower risk of suffering a heart attack than the women who smoked, were overweight, ate unhealthy food, and were physically inactive.

“If all women lived like the healthy group, 75% of heart attacks would be prevented,” says Åkesson. “It’s also important to produce data based on the situation in Sweden so that we can improve public health in our country.”

Source: Budapest Business Journal