Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 3, 1994 TAG: 9408040002
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Almena Hughes
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Floyd County health educator Kathy Elich took exception to coverage of Philip Lipetz's book, "The Good Calorie Diet," in my column of July 13. Elich worried that such "fad diets" might give people false hopes and misinformation and possibly even cause them harm. She forwarded a report from the "Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter" refuting Lipetz's plan, which says that different foods convert different percentages of calories into fat and suggests limiting or avoiding certain foods, especially carbohydrates, that he considers to be "bad calories."
Tufts says that Lipetz's assertions are not grounded in scientific fact. "If the body takes in more 'fuel' than it burns, the excess, regardless of whether it comes from potatoes or any other food, is stored as fat. But the only type of foods that appear more likely than others to turn into fat are not high-carbohydrate items like potatoes but, rather, fatty foods themselves like the sour cream and steak people often eat with their spuds."
The report continues, "No nutrition expert worth his or her salt would dub any single food 'bad,' even if it had a high fat content. One of the basic tenets of healthful eating is that there are no good or bad foods, only good and bad overall diets."
Elich says she'll gladly send a copy of the United States Department of Agriculture's food guide pyramid brochure to anyone interested in a well-rounded, balanced diet that lacks gimmicks but works. Request it from her at the Floyd County Health Department, P.O. Box 157, Floyd, Va. 24091.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has been calling a lot of foods "bad" lately - first Italian, then Chinese and most recently Mexican, which CSPI said often is - surprise! - high in fat.
Be that as it may, a report from the National Restaurant Association says Mexican - along with pizza, hamburger and Asian - is among the preferred foods of consumers between ages 18 and 29 years old, also demographically designated "Generation X." This group also has a penchant for fast foods and foods like sandwiches, tacos, French fries, chips and nachos that don't require utensils. Xers say they're less worried about health and nutrition than their older counterparts, but that may only be youth's sweet imperviousness. Let's check back in, oh, say 10 years or so.
The restaurant association in response to CSPI's report pointed out that healthy eating is possible even in Mexican restaurants. For instance, an association representative said, "Most Mexican restaurants offer gazpacho, chicken taco in a soft shell and fresh fruit, which make an excellent meal for a nutrition-conscious consumer. Such customers can also request that the kitchen hold the guacamole, sour cream or cheese on other items."
The representative further said that in upscale Mexican restaurants diners can usually order ceviche, followed by grilled chicken or fish in a vegetable sauce and request that foods be grilled or broiled rather than fried.
And, of course, with the numerous low-fat and fat-free offerings available in most supermarkets, healthful Mexican munching at home is possible too. Guiltless Gourmet, whose line includes fat-free dips and salsas and baked tortilla chips with one-seventh the fat of fried chips, is offering free healthy Mexican-meals ideas. Write to: Recipe Information, 3709 Promontory Point Drive, Suite 131, Austin, Texas 78744-1139.
While we're talking about bad news and dietary fats, remember the hoopla over the saturated-fat content of movie popcorn, also reported by CSPI. Well, "Cooking Light" magazine responded with the following popcorn-snack alternatives at less than 4 grams of fat each per one-cup serving. However, horrors still lurk behind movie theatre snack bars. One recent report says a .5-ounce box of Raisinets is equal to a plate of spaghetti with white clam sauce and two double-fudge brownies; and a 5-ounce box of Milk Duds equals a frozen 12-inch double-cheese pizza with pepperoni. The report says you could eat 5 ounces of Twizzlers and only get the fat equivalent of three rice cakes (about 3 grams). But you'd also get 500 calories. Sometimes it seems as though you just can't win.
But you can certainly try. And that's what Paul G. Roland, Sr. and Jr., a father-son team of inventors is doing in the war against soaring coffee prices. Their brainchild, an adhesive donut-shaped, silicon rubber disk, extends the life of a pot of automatic drip coffee by raising the pot above the burner, thus preventing the coffee from crystalizing, burning or turning bitter. The Full Circle Coffee Ring, which averages a 9-month daily-use life span, retails for about $2 and is available at Lechters Housewares, Wal-Mart and other local retail outlets.
Recipes for:
SPICY POPCORN MUNCH
POPCORNY SNACK MIX
by CNB