Q:
The Food Guide Pyramid says that bread and grain products should
be the largest part of our diets. Does that mean any kind of grain
product?
A:
All kinds of grain products _ bread, cereal, rice, pasta, and
other cooked grains _ fit into this group of healthful foods.
However, not all of these foods are equally nutritious. Researchers
compiling the American Institute for Cancer Research's major review
of diet and cancer risk emphasized the importance of the higher
fiber, vitamin and protective phytochemical content of whole grains
(like whole wheat bread), compared to refined grains (like white
bread).
And a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that
included more than 34,000 women found that those who ate the most
whole grains had the lowest risk of death from heart disease.It's
smart to look for grain products that are low in fat and sodium
for most of your choices, but remember to aim for at least three
or four of those standard-size servings to come from whole-grain
products each day.
Q:
Is
there a nutritional difference between sweet potatoes and yams?
A:
True yams are starchy tropical vegetables rarely seen in the United
States except in markets that sell Latin American foods. ``Yams''
or ``Louisiana yams'' in the produce department are really a variety
of sweet potato that have a darker orange flesh and a more moist
texture than other sweet potatoes. Both types are excellent sources
of vitamin C, although most experts say that the darker orange
color of ``yams'' indicates a higher content of beta carotenoids.
Q:
Do lean and low-fat mean the same thing?
A:
While both terms identify foods appropriate for low-fat diets,
legally they do have slightly different meanings. ``Low-fat''
can refer to any food that contains less than three grams of fat
in the standardized serving size. For a meat to be called low-fat
it should contain no more than three grams of fat in a three-ounce
serving. ``Lean'' and ``extra lean'' apply only to meats and main-dish-type
products and may be slightly higher in fat. Lean meat, poultry,
seafood, and game meat must contain less than 10 grams of total
fat, four grams of saturated fat and 95 mg of cholesterol in a
three-ounce serving. Those labeled extra lean must contain less
than five grams total fat, two grams saturated fat, and 95 mg
cholesterol. Mixed main-dish or meal-type products must meet these
same criteria to be called lean or extra lean, but their serving
sizes are defined differently. The important point to understand
as a shopper is that lean foods are not necessarily as low in
fat as true foods labeled ``low-fat.'' Look carefully at labels
of meats, especially ground meats, as some stores still seem to
be in the process of adapting their labeling to meet these requirements.
Karen
Collins is a nutritionist with the American Institute for Cancer
Research in Washington, D.C.
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