Hidden calories in food and sales gimmicks:
No food is “off limits” at Diet4Living.  However, in your quest for nutritious foods, you need to have an idea where some of the hidden calories in food might be and some of the sales gimmicks marketers use.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Calories in the same food:
Some foods are higher in calorie than what you may expect.  It may be due to the way food is prepared or other ingredients added to the basic food.  For example, one brand of honey-mustard salad dressing is 350 calories per 2 tablespoons and another brand is 50 calories.  Many people use 4 tablespoons on a salad; so 700 calories vs. 100 calories on top a salad.  Which would you choose?

Amount of contents:
Other times there are sales gimmicks trying to get you to believe their product is healthier for you than other brands; in order to increase their sales. For example, a bread says it is whole grain.  And while it does contain a small amount of whole grain (e.g. 10%), the majority may actually be white flower (e.g. 90%).  You need to read the labels.

NOTE: when reading labels, the manufacturer is required to list the ingredients in order of their amount by weight; the first ingredient being the most.

Serving size:
Another trick is to have the serving size so small, the calories appear to be very few.  You will see this most frequently on high calorie snack foods or diet foods that don’t want to seem too fattening. 

Juices:
Many of the juices sold today contain added sugar and sweeteners.  This adds many calories.  Furthermore, the juice of fruit is where the majority of all the calories are.  So removing all the solids and only leaving the liquids increases the calories per cup.

Made from good foods:
In an effort to make foods seem nutritious, some companies will turn good quality foods into poor nutritional choices.  For example, vegetables are good - right?  Not if they are processed to lose all their fiber, mashed up and deep fried in hydrogenated oil.  Some brands of vegetable chips made from “spinach and carrots” are high in calories, fat and cholesterol. Baked products are usually the wiser choice.

Added salt:
We all need salt (sodium) in our diets for proper fluid retention and muscular function.  There are many medical reasons where you may need to watch your sodium intake; such as kidney problems, high blood pressure or water retention.

Some foods are extremely high in sodium (salt).  Because salt is a preservative that keeps food from spoiling and constrains the growth of bacteria, many foods are high in sodium.  You can find sodium in various forms on food labels such as: monosodium glutamate (MSG). Sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, and baking soda.

Dried Fruit:
Beware of the calories in any type of dried fruit.  They are far more than what is found in fresh fruit.

Salad Dressing:
Salad dressing can be a great help, allowing you to enjoy vegetables that are good for you.  However, the saturated fat and calories in most salad dressings are so high, you would do better not eating the salad.  Enjoy low calorie salads that help fill the belly, just watch the calories in the dressing.

Breaded fish:
Fish is a great meat, low in saturated fat, high in polyunsaturated fat, and is packed with protein.  However, fish that has been breaded and deep fried can be a poor nutritional choice.

Low fat and reduced calorie:
The question here is just what is considered “low” or “reduced”?  If a typical milk shake is 800 calories and you buy the reduced fat or reduced calorie shake at 725 calories, is that a good or bad choice?  It depends.  75 calories saved are 75 calories saved.  On the other hand, if another brand’s regular milk shake is only 450 calories, the 750 calorie shake would be a bad choice. 

Deli & Lunch meats:
Some deli & lunch meats are made from scraps of meat mixed with fat.  For example, an all-natural skinless chicken breast is 126 calories per 4.5 ounces.  But chicken lunch meat can have more the calories due to the additives.  And typically all processed deli and lunch meats have a lot of sodium added. 

Ground Turkey:
Ground Turkey can be an alternative to ground beef, however, read the label first.  Some ground turkey can have much more saturated fat than the extra 96% lean ground beef.  This is because some turkey manufacturers include the turkey skin.

Lean to read:
It is important that you know how to read package labels.  They are a great source of information in helping you to decide what to eat and the quality of the food. 

See the following link for more information.

How to read a package label
by William Sears, MD and Martha Sears, RN
(AskDrSears.com)

D4L.org