לא הלעלות

אם החלטתם כי המהפיכה הבאה שלכם היא לרדת במשקל, אתם כנראה מחפשים אחר דרכים לקצץ בקלוריות, כמו לקנות מזונות שהתווית שלהם אומרת "מכיל רק חומרים טבעיים" או "דל קלוריות".

אך כדאי להזהר: חלק מהבחירות שלכם במזון עשויות שלא לעזור לכם, זאת למרות מה שאתם חושבים.

הסיבה לבלבול שלנו נובעת מכך שהמידע על תווית המזון הוא בשפות שונות, מסבירים מומחים בתחום. מילים כמו "ללא שומן" או "אפס קלוריות", "דל" ו"חומרים טבעיים בלבד" נשמעות כמו בחירות טובות אך כדאי לזכור כי רושם עלול להטעות. שימורי טונה במים, לדוגמא. רוב אנשים חושבים כי הם מפחיתים בקלוריות כשהם אוכלים אותם במקום טונה בשמן.

הם טועים.

"It's got the exact same grams of fat," said Rodriguez. "If we take the calories from fat, which are 30, and divide it by the total number of calories, which is 90 — 30 percent fat."

In other words, the amount of fat added by packing tuna in oil is negligible.

Another example: Turkey luncheon meat is healthy, considering it's a lean mean, right?

"The percentage of fat in this product here is almost 50 percent fat. But it's turkey. But because it's turkey, we think we're doing a great job," Rodriguez explained.

Piling up those slices can add up, so the trick is to total the calories into your overall caloric intake, rather than just assume that "low-fat" or "low-carb" also translates into "low-cal."

And what about fast food? While most people know that a Wendy's big bacon classic is not low cal — it has 580 calories and 29 grams of fat — do you know if a Schlotzsky's 'turkey original' is a better choice?

Unfortunately, it's not.

"It had 822 calories and 32 grams of fat. So the calorie content was much higher than the bacon double cheeseburger," Rodriguez said.

The same is true for smoothie drinks at stores like Jamba Juice.

"The 'Peenya Kowlada' has 690 calories," Rodriguez said. "That's 690 calories and its got 143 grams of sugar."

And bagels, the breakfast staple, are now made so large that they are more like eating several bagels.

"Back in the '80s, a bagel was about a 3- or 4-ounce portion. Now our bagels have doubled in size. They're more along the lines of an 8-ounce bagel," she said.

ABC News affiliate KTRK-TV in Houston prepared this report.

Print This ArticlePrint This Article E-mail This ArticleEmail This Article RSS Headlines Newsletters

Clerics Seek End to Protests Over Drawings
Presidents Join Mourners at King Funeral
Vote Count Begins After Big Haiti Turnout
Most Sent Headlines
First-Grader Suspended for Sexual Harassment
Scientists Find 'Lost World' in Indonesia
Ken Considers Makeover to Win Back Barbie