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Nutritionist Column, Cathie Ostrowski, M.S. R.D., L.D.N.

March is National Nutrition Month!

Dear Readers:

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of fad diets and food fads. They show up in commercials and on the internet. They are passed around at work and in social gatherings. All of this confusing and leads to misinformation and fear. Food fads can be restrictive, complicated and downright unhealthy. Some are downright silly—remember the grapefruit diet? Many eliminate entire food groups and are not nutritionally sound.

The theme for National Nutrition Month is: “100% Fad Free”. The take-home message is that we all should avoid fad diets and food fads. They don’t work for weight management and they do not lead to lifelong healthy eating. Furthermore, food fads and fad diets are not personalized. In other words, a food fad does not take medical conditions, lifestyle or specific nutritional needs into account.

Then why are food fads so popular? People are often looking for a quick fix and quick results. It is sometimes easier to contemplate eating nothing but cabbage soup for a week than changing lifelong habits. The fact is that people often lose weight on a fad diet, but fail to keep it off, sometimes gaining back more weight than they lost in the first place!

Also, following a fad diet does not lead to a better understanding of nutrition. A healthy diet is based on the proper mixture of the calorie providing nutrients: protein, carbohydrates and fats. A wide variety of foods within these groups are necessary in order for you to get the proper balance of vitamins and minerals. For example, pork provides protein, iron, zinc, potassium, phosphorous and B vitamins, while citrus fruits provide Vitamin C, folic acid and soluble fiber.

How do you spot a fad diet? Be a smart consumer and look for the following signs:

1. Entire food groups are omitted
2. Promise of a quick fix
3. Identifying foods as “good” or “bad”.
4. The recommendations promote fear of certain foods.
5. Testimonials are used.
6. Success claims are based on research that cannot be verified.
7. The promoter attempts to sell supplements or books along with the plan.
8. It just doesn’t make sense, i.e. bananas one day, juice the next, steak the following day.

Follow this link to the American Dietetic Association’s website for additional information on being 100% Fad Free.

www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/media_10821_ENU_HTML.htm

Follow this link for delicious and healthy recipes featuring pork. www.theotherwhitemeat.org

Yours in Good Health,

Cathie Ostrowski, MS, RD, LDN