FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (April 2, 2009) -- Fort Leavenworth spouses got a tour of the Commissary through a nutritionist's eyes.
Cecilia Thomas, registered dietician at the Army Physical Fitness Research Institute; Marcy Sedwick, registered dietician at Munson Army Health Center; and Kathy Budke, assistant MAHC dietician, teamed up to teach shoppers how to buy healthfully March 27. The nutritionists talked about getting low fat, high fiber, and low sodium foods into one's diet.
Sedwick began by showing shoppers how to read a nutrition facts food label. The first thing to look for, she said, was how many servings are counted in each container.
"It's important to look at what they're calling a serving size," she said.
Calories are also listed at the top of the label, Sedwick said. Food items with 40 calories or less per serving are considered low calorie. Food items with about 100 calories per serving are considered medium calorie. Food items with 400 calories or more are considered high calorie.
Another item to look for on a nutrition label is fiber. Sedwick said adults should get about 25 to 35 grams per day of fiber, but cautioned not to introduce lots of fiber at once. She suggested adding fiber over a seven- to 10-day period, while making sure to drink eight to 10 glasses of water each day.
"Fiber is so healthy for us," she said. "It helps with cholesterol and it helps with weight management."
Fiber also keeps the colon regular, which can prevent cancer. Sedwick said that fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber.
Sedwick took spouses to the salty snack aisle, where each picked out a bag of chips to read the label. Some chips can be high in sodium or fat, she said. One problem people have with snacks is that they don't often look at the serving size. The amount of calories, fat and sodium in chips is based on that serving size.
"If chips are a weakness, maybe you should buy a single serving," she said.
Cereal is another food item with many choices. Sedwick showed shoppers to look for low sugar content and whole grains, which provide more fiber. The serving size of cereal can also vary.
"You really want it to be whole grain," she said. "If your cereal has whole grain as the first ingredient, that's pretty good."
Sedwick told a story about a father whose child loved sweet cereal, so he restricted his child to eating that type of cereal once a week.
Sedwick said adding fruit can help sweeten cereal with its natural sugars. Produce is an important part of anyone's diet, she said.
"Half your plate should be fruits and vegetables," she said. "Find whatever is on sale and stock up on what you like. If you buy less snack stuff, like chips, you'll have more in your budget for produce."
Frozen fruit is a convenience item that helps some people, Sedwick said, because it doesn't go bad.
Bread can be another confusing item, because it might read "made with whole grain," but it is not 100 percent whole grain. Look on the package for 100 percent whole grain, she said.
"Just because it's brown bread doesn't mean it's whole grain," Sedwick said.
Thomas talked about the differences in fats. The lower the saturated fats and trans-saturated fats in a food item, the better. These kinds of fats can cause higher levels of bad cholesterol. For cooking oils, the best choices are canola and olive oils, Thomas said.
Olive oil comes in different varieties, such as extra virgin or pure olive oil. The real difference between these, Thomas said, is how the oil is processed and its flavor.
"They're all still basically healthy," she said.
Spray oil is another useful item that can help reduce the amount of fat used in cooking, Thomas said, but is dependent upon how much is used.
Thomas also talked about some of the trendy food items claiming to have health benefits. Yogurt with special bacteria or extra fiber and some organic foods can cost more than their counterparts.
"They're trying to make one food with everything," Thomas said. "It's not a bad thing."
However, Thomas said, healthy eaters could get the fiber they need from fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Organic food has more restrictions on the amount of pesticides and the way it is raised. Thomas said this may or may not be helpful. When eating a banana, for example, the peel gets thrown away. Buying organic food is a choice that's up to the shopper, she said.
Soy milk and rice milk are good ways for people with food allergies to get the same benefits as drinking cow's milk, Thomas said.
"They've added calcium and vitamin D, so you are getting the same nutrients you're looking for, it's just not the same protein."
When buying soy milk, manufacturers sometimes add extra sugar so shoppers should be mindful of the nutrition label, Thomas said.
Susan Jackson said she learned a lot on the tour, including the fact that sea salt and regular salt have about the same amount of sodium, she said.
"With organic, there's a big difference in the price but not much difference in product," she said.
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