For years, we have been told to avoid saturated fats to prevent heart disease. You know the fats – Pralines and Cream Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, soft Brie cheese, filet mignon with bacon wrap, golden seasoned skin on rotisserie chicken, creamy butter on your baked potato, and the list goes on. Now a landmark study from the Harvard School of Public Health published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is questioning that same advice. Based on their results, “there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk for heart disease.” And furthermore, restricting fat intake can lead to a whole new set of chronic health problems.

This news is rocking the nutrition world, but before you run out to get a double scoop with extra whipped cream, take a closer look. Saturated fats are found in foods like whole milk, cheese, beef, poultry and pork, and we know that too much saturated fat can “sit” in our heart arteries, and potentially lead to heart disease. But don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak!  Avoiding ALL forms of saturated fats is out of context, and takes the advice too far because these same foods have equal amounts of heart healthy fats. And trying to avoid all saturated fats usually leads to eating too many low-fat foods full of sugars and high-fructose corn syrup, and processed foods too high in trans fats. What is a trans fat? It’s a chemically altered version of a heart healthy oil, which has been hardened in the manufacturing process – a hardening that leads to hardening of the arteries if eaten too much.  

Remember when the egg got all the blame when someone’s cholesterol level was too high? Come to find out, the “sterol” in the egg isn’t all chole”sterol” but a combination of different sterols – some good ones that do NOT raise your body’s cholesterol level. So eggs have come back into favor.  Looks like we are now heading that way in terms of saturated animal fats, too!  Trans fats, also known as hydrogenated fats? Avoid those guys, but saturated fats that occur naturally in cheeses, whole milk products, butter and red meats? Sounds like we can enjoy these in moderation - control your portions, and saturated fats from whole, natural foods can fit into your healthy lifestyle!

It’s summertime, and that means time for a road trip with family or friends! But don’t let a healthy lifestyle get left behind. Try these traveling tips:

1.    Carry a small cooler with an ice pack inside and include foods such as fresh fruit, baby carrots, drinkable low-fat yogurt and string cheese.

2.    Stash some high energy treats in the glove compartment, such as energy bars (choose a flavor that will not melt!), dried fruit like raisins or apricots, single serving whole grain cereal boxes, or small snack bags of nuts and pretzels.

3.    Having a hard time resisting a candy bar when you stop at a gas station for a pit-stop? Choose a few miniature “feel good” treats like a peppermint patty or several chocolate kisses instead. Play the “how slow can you go?” game: savor the treat on the road by timing how long you can make the chocolate last. You may find that a little bit can go a long way in satisfaction if you slow down enough to really enjoy it!

Knowing what to eat, and when, are big steps to learning how to lose weight and keep it off.  But knowing how much to eat may be the biggest step of all! How big, or small, should your portions be? Do you have to carry measuring cups with you, or try to remember that magazine article that listed a different object for portion references for different foods?  Let’s see, was it the size of a computer mouse, or a tennis ball, for the amount of baked potato you can eat? Was it a CD disc or a deck of cards for amount of turkey on your sandwich?  It can certainly get confusing, so try these quick tips to simplify your portions but maximize your results:

Choose From The FAB FIVE FUELS:
1.    Whole grains/starches
2.    Fruits
3.    Vegetables
4.    Lean Meats, Nuts and Seeds
5.    Low fat Dairy

And pick one of the following tips to get started.  Add another one or two each week, and soon you will be controlling your portions with ease:

•    Divide your plate into sections: ¼ for lean meat or other protein choices, ¼ for carbohydrates like potato or rice, and ½ for color from fruits and vegetables.
•    Choose more “brown” carbohydrates than “white” whenever you can
•    Think “Baseball” for carbohydrate (grains, breads, cereals, starchy vegetables) portions! For weight loss, one baseball each meal for women, 1 ½ to 2 each meal for men is a good guideline to follow.
•    For every “brown” you choose, eat an equal amount, or more, of “color” – go for at least one colorful food at each meal and snack.
•    Check out your palm size, and use that as a guide for the amount of protein you eat at each meal.
•    Add a small amount of protein with ½ baseball amount of grain or a baseball of fruit at your snack time to increase energy and fullness AND decrease cravings (nuts, seeds, lowfat dairy work great here!)

Have you already noticed that certain well-loved foods have not been mentioned yet? Are you asking yourself, “Where are those desserts hiding? What about a glass of wine? And I don’t see any French fries!” These “other” foods do have a place, but the other fuel group is just that-OTHER. It does not count as one of the fuel groups from which to build a meal or snack. The “other” foods simply complement your meals and snacks.  Learn to build a meal or snack from the five basic fuel groups first, then you will discover how the “other” group fits in!

Tips to fitting in and enjoying the “other” foods we love so much:

•    If you really want something sweet, plan ahead and skip the roll or potato to make room for dessert. Eat it within 30 minutes of your meal to take advantage of the fullness and satisfaction you have already reached. And remember, the best two bites are always the first and the last – so slow down, savor those two, and take the rest home for another day!
•    Try to limit fried or creamy foods to no more than 2 or 3 times a week
•    Play ping pong with your added fats, like salad dressings, mayonnaise and butter:  up to 3 ping pong balls in play is a good rule of thumb to follow.
•    For each glass of wine or serving of alcoholic beverage, drink an equal amount of water. And since alcohol is metabolized more like fats than sugars in the body, count a serving as one of your ping pong balls of fat.