America's Portion Distortion
8 foods you're likely over-indulging in without realizing it.
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By Coeli Carr for MSN Health & Fitness
When you pile food on your plate, do you have any idea how many calories you've signed up for? Do you calculate the recommended serving size by checking out the label or back-of-box nutrient information? Or do you tend to guess?
The recommended serving sizes of certain mainstays on the family menu are often much smaller than you think, so it's easy to become oblivious to the amount of food you and your loved ones are eating. Here are eight foods with suggested serving sizes that may surprise you—plus some health consequences of such portion distortion.
Pizza
Do the math: Even the most disciplined eaters have difficulty keeping their pizza intake to one slice. But even one slice of cheese pizza may be a dietary liability. Each contains about 12 fat grams and approximately 300 calories—or more, depending on the amount and types of cheese, and the size of the slice. Cheese has a fair amount of saturated fat, which is unhealthy for the heart, says Joan Salge Blake, M.S., R.D., a clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University and author of the college textbook Nutrition & You (Benjamin Cummings, 2007). And, she adds, many people just nibble off the cheese and sauce and leave the crusts, so they feel less full. "It's the equivalent of eating a cheese meal," says Blake.
The fix: Have a salad before you start eating the pizza, suggests Blake, who cites research showing that eating a salad with light dressing before a meal may help you reduce the calories of the main part of your meal by about 10 percent. And, if you're eating out, she recommends you finish your salad—which probably will have helped sate your hunger—before placing your pizza order. You may then find that one slice, ideally topped with vegetables, is all you need. Making pizza at home, preferably with whole-grain dough and a generous amount of oven-roasted veggies to add flavor, is the best way to keep calories and fat low. Blake recommends you top it with a minimal amount of reduced-fat mozzarella or other cheese.
When you pile food on your plate, do you have any idea how many calories you've signed up for? Do you calculate the recommended serving size by checking out the label or back-of-box nutrient information? Or do you tend to guess?
The recommended serving sizes of certain mainstays on the family menu are often much smaller than you think, so it's easy to become oblivious to the amount of food you and your loved ones are eating. Here are eight foods with suggested serving sizes that may surprise you—plus some health consequences of such portion distortion.
Pizza
Do the math: Even the most disciplined eaters have difficulty keeping their pizza intake to one slice. But even one slice of cheese pizza may be a dietary liability. Each contains about 12 fat grams and approximately 300 calories—or more, depending on the amount and types of cheese, and the size of the slice. Cheese has a fair amount of saturated fat, which is unhealthy for the heart, says Joan Salge Blake, M.S., R.D., a clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University and author of the college textbook Nutrition & You (Benjamin Cummings, 2007). And, she adds, many people just nibble off the cheese and sauce and leave the crusts, so they feel less full. "It's the equivalent of eating a cheese meal," says Blake.
The fix: Have a salad before you start eating the pizza, suggests Blake, who cites research showing that eating a salad with light dressing before a meal may help you reduce the calories of the main part of your meal by about 10 percent. And, if you're eating out, she recommends you finish your salad—which probably will have helped sate your hunger—before placing your pizza order. You may then find that one slice, ideally topped with vegetables, is all you need. Making pizza at home, preferably with whole-grain dough and a generous amount of oven-roasted veggies to add flavor, is the best way to keep calories and fat low. Blake recommends you top it with a minimal amount of reduced-fat mozzarella or other cheese.
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Join the discussion!
#1
Saturday, November 21, 2009 9:32:02 PM
I agree with Shannon Deee; as human beings we ARE omnivorous. If we were meant to be carnivorous we would have teeth like a dog's or a cat's and live in dens! I too love fruits and veggies; it's actually rare that I choose to eat meat. I like to eat right and exercise because we all need the right balance of nutrients and to not be sedentary; plus, eating right and exercising most of the time affords you a little wiggle room (which my husband and I use for our weekly pizza date!).
#2
Saturday, November 21, 2009 2:14:10 AM
... and Christmas gifts..
#3
Friday, November 20, 2009 9:18:20 AM
Friday, November 20, 2009 6:28:51 AM
click here to get Christmas gifts 
#5
Thursday, November 12, 2009 6:47:48 AM
Vulcan, it is always like that at MSN.
#7
Thursday, November 12, 2009 6:02:27 AM
Daughter76, I happen to like leafy greens, tomatoes, and all sorts of other veggies with or without dressing or butter. Humans are omnivores. We ARE meant to eat vegetables. We have grinding molars for that purpose. And humans hunt AND gather. We may not graze on grass but we do eat plants.
#8
Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:31:30 AM
Someone better tell the food police that salad is not the same as a food that tastes good. If people were meant to graze, we'd have long snouts and horns and live in a pasture. Food has to taste good before you can eat it---wise up----other wise all you're doing is creating fodder for the garbage pails
#9
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 1:37:36 AM
The biggest trends in society in the last 20 years are the lack of physical activity and the hugh portions that are served in restaurants. Most people eat out far more than necessary. Even the appetizers contain more calories than most WHOLE MEALS that we used to fix at home. It is unbelievable to me that in a society that has access to the internet, physical trainers, exercise DVDs, a gym on most corners and a landscape dotted with GNCs that we still don't understand that a coke has 9 tablespoons of sugar and 112 empty calories. Starbuck's drinks probably contain 400-500 calories (not counting that pastry you just bought, while you rationalize that you didn't eat bacon for breakfast!) Trust me folks, bacon and eggs with a regular exercise program is better than an energy drink and a krispy kreems and watching American Idol...
#10
Friday, September 04, 2009 7:57:41 AM
Rice? Orange Juice? What's next?
I think we all get that moderation is the key. And the occasional indulgence is okay.
As for the 'obesity problem' - we have become a sedentary culture. (And I say this sitting at my computer lol) I mean we have drive -thru bank tellers and drive-thru fast food. Kids aren't allowed to run and play anymore. They may get hurt and, of course, the stranger lurking around every corner. Very different from my younger days.
Eat as healthy as you can (and in this economy it's not always easy to buy the healthy choices), do some form of physical activity, a walk or bike ride after supper, take the stairs instead of the elevator...and when you want 3 slices of pizza, hold the salad - Have It! We need to start enjoying our lives and not worry every time a study is published. It'll change in about 3 years anyway.
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