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Nutrition

Test Your Nutrition Intuition

Summary & Participants

There are people who know the nutritional value of foods and follow dietary recommendations to a tee. Others are clueless. Which camp are you in?

Medically Reviewed On: July 09, 2008

Webcast Transcript

BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD: I think that, when it comes to eating in restaurants, a lot of people think that, if they order a salad, that that's really going to be low in calories. And there are some salads, like a chef salad with a nice, thick blue cheese dressing could be a thousand calories as opposed to something like a-a meal that has chicken and, you know, meat that could even be lower in calories. So I think that, if you're ordering a salad, it's a good idea to ask for dressing on the side. And if you put a spoon of your favorite dressing on, even if it is high in fat, but just a spoon of it and put some balsamic vinegar over it, that's a good way to dilute down the flavor of something that you really like.

ANNOUNCER: A healthy diet should contain no fat. True or false.

BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD: There are many different sources of fat in the diet, and I think that fat has gotten a bad rap over the years. So fat is not necessarily the bad guy. A lot has to do with where the fat is coming from, whether it's a saturated fat, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated. For example, saturated fats, if you want to put it graphically, they're the fats that will stick to your arteries the fastest. They are usually fat that is solid at room temperature, like shortening and butter, the fat that's on meat. So those are the fats that are usually not recommended when you're trying to prevent heart disease and have a healthier diet. And the monounsaturated fats are in products like olive oil, canola oil, they're in olives, they're in avocado. So monounsaturated fats are usually recommended in terms of heart disease prevention.

ANNOUNCER: A bagel is equivalent to how many slices of bread: 2, 4, 6, 8?

BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD: One of the most popular foods, especially here, is a bagel. And one bagel is actually, if you put it on the scale and weighed it, a bagel could weigh 6 ounces. Well, that would be just like eating six pieces of bread, so most people don't realize that one bagel could be six pieces of bread. And if each piece of bread is 80 calories, you could do the math, that's a lot of calories to have and that's a plain bagel with nothing on it.

ANNOUNCER: The body can live without carbohydrates. True or false.

BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD: We need carbohydrates for energy, because they're the best source of energy that we have. We need carbohydrates for vitamins and minerals. We need carbohydrates for fiber, to help things moving along. So they're really important in the diet. Carbohydrates could be fattening if you're eating an excessive amount of carbohydrates. But if you eat the proper amount for your particular body, for your level of energy, then I think that, not only will you enjoy them, but you'll enjoy the benefits that they bring.

ANNOUNCER: Which foods contain a lot of vitamin C?

BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD: Foods that are high in vitamin C would be citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, orange juice, grapefruit juice. But, also, broccoli is high in vitamin C. Believe it or not, a baked potato is high in vitamin C. Cherries and strawberries are also high in vitamin C and so is cantaloupe.

ANNOUNCER: All fiber is alike. True or false.

BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD: There are many sources of fiber in the diet and there is soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber would be foods like oats and apples and carrots, and these are foods that may actually help lower cholesterol levels. And insoluble fiber would be food like bran-type of products, and they actually help you to move your bowels more readily and help prevent constipation.

ANNOUNCER: If you are finding that your nutrition knowledge is not perfect don't fret, dietitians have some guiding principles that everyone can follow.

BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD: There's no one food or nutrient that's going to be magical. If you just try to think of a concert, if you went to hear just one instrument playing, it's nothing like hearing a whole, you know, a symphony. So there is a symphony of fruits and vegetables and vitamins and minerals and proteins and carbohydrates and fats out there. The key is trying to learn how to be a good conductor and put them all in your diet so that you know that you're meeting your needs, no matter what age you are.

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