While my job as a Dietitian is to disseminate nutrition information to my clients, I have found that my role needs to go way beyond the food facts.  The truth is that today’s consumers must really stay on their toes to outsmart the big guys: food companies, the restaurants, etc. 

Take a closer look:  Have you eaten out lately?  Let me guess: you went to a restaurant that serves delicious bread, which of course they are so kind to refill each time you grab the last piece.  Was I there also?  No, I just know their motives.  Let me share.  Bread is made of carbohydrates and when digested these carbohydrates stimulate appetite and make you hungrier. The more you eat, the hungrier you will get, the more you will order, the more money they make.  Pretty sneaky, huh?  Next time, don’t dive in, order you meal, ask for a salad and skip the bread basket!  Saves you calories and money!

What about the nice waitress that gives you and your kids the soda, with straws of course.  Ever notice that with water they skip the straws?  Well again the reason is very logical: straws make it easier to drink larger amounts at a faster rate.  Now even before your food gets there, your kids are asking for more soda.  And this way they don’t have to come running over every few minutes to refill the “free” water.  Your new plan should be to use the straws for the water and sip the soda slowly.  What a difference that will make on both your family’s waistlines, bones (soda robs your bones of calcium) and your wallet!

How much fruit is in a fruit roll up?  How much cheese is in cream cheese?  Isn’t frozen yogurt really just yogurt frozen?  It is really all in the name.  The truth is there is only fruit flavoring in a roll up, no actual fruit content; no cheese in cream cheese, basically just fat; and no, that soft-serve pumping from the machine at the local yogurteria has no real calcium or protein to speak of but when they make it sound healthy they can even charge more!. Remember: just because it sounds healthy, doesn’t mean it is.  Taking the time to read the ingredients will give you the real inside scoop on what is inside!

Top your salad with “lite” dressing to keep it healthy?  Well did you know that “lite” might just mean “light” in color, “light in weight” or “light” in feeling for that matter?  Be certain to learn about the labeling laws and what claims really mean.  For example, the term “low fat” actually means that for every 100 calories in that product there is not more than 3 grams of fat.  This term has been regulated by the FDA to insure that it is used correctly and not to mislead customers.  Check out the USDA or FDA websites to learn more about these claims, so you know exactly what you are getting.  You deserve to know what “lite” you are paying for before you aren’t getting any “lighter” at all!  (Visit the USDA and FDA websites at www.usda.gov and www.fda.gov.)

So the truth is that as smart as you think you are by understanding a balanced diet and making good food choices, you also need to beware of how easy it is to get caught up in mistakenly making wrong choices, in a restaurant or in the supermarket.  Take the time to stop and think.  Read and ask questions.  Turn down the straws, skip the bread.  Buy real fruit. With a little more information, your waistline will be smaller and your wallet will be bigger!