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See It: Eat It

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Not Hungry To Hungry In No Time Flat

How can it be that you’re sitting in your house at about 9PM, nice and content from a good dinner.  You’re satisfied and not hungry.  Whoops, hold the phone.  An ad comes on television for a fast food burger topped with melted cheese and bacon.  Really crispy French fries tag along and so does a strawberry milkshake.  Bingo.  You are hungry and cannot get the thought of that burger, shake, and fries out of your head.  (If we really looked into this, your hunger might be head hunger not stomach hunger.)  It’s a bit of I want what I want and I want it now syndrome.

Can An Ad Change Your Eating?

Can food ads really change the way you eat? You bet they can – or a whole lot of multi-million dollar advertising campaigns wouldn’t exist.

According to the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, there’s no doubt that food marketing affects eating behavior. Continued exposure to many ads over time stimulates your desire for what’s being touted. They found that the foods that are advertised the most are what people say they like and buy the most. That wouldn’t be so bad if the marketing efforts were for healthy foods instead of junk – or, to be a little nicer, food of lesser nutritional quality.

What Is The Norm?

Advertising psychologically affects what you think is the norm. The visual and emotional effects of TV advertising, along with a story line and music, really gets to you — especially when you’re tired and plopped down in front of the TV.  Your ability to control your impulses is decreased.

There’s more:

  • Advertising affects your preference for various categories of food.
  • When you see more fast food commercials you want to eat more fast food than people who don’t see as many commercials.
  • People who are exposed to food ads end up eating more food overall.
  • When people see an ad before tasting a food they like the taste of that food more.
  • Food marketing affects what might be considered “typical behavior,”   for instance, when people see fast food ads and then believe that their neighbors eat fast food more frequently than they do.

What’s The Message (Is It Good Or Bad)?

Food marketers have a lot of power.  The tricky thing is to harness that power for a good purpose rather than for hawking nutritionally poor food with a large caloric bang for the buck. Unfortunately, the majority of ads tip the unhealthy end of the scale by advertising fast food, drinks, and snacks  often accompanied by unhealthy eating messages such as young men should eat big portions of meat so they “eat like men” and that it’s a good idea to have a “fourth meal of the day” (sweetened cereal at night springs to mind).

Kid Stuff

Kids are impressionable and for them, food marketing packs a very powerful punch. A recent study (2/10) in the American Journal of Public Health showed that childhood obesity is directly related to children’s exposure to commercials that advertise unhealthy foods.

According to Rudd, the average child sees 15 food commercials each day.  It takes only one commercial to make them want a particular food. Grocery store marketing takes direct aim at kids with TV characters on packages and shelf displays at their eye level. The internet is jam packed with food marketing on children’s websites and with online games that feature food products within the game.

Fortunately, there is an Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children which will make food marketing recommendations to Congress this summer, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest has developed “Guidelines for Responsible Food Marketing to Children” (www.cspinet.org).


SocialDieter Tip:

Food marketing is everywhere – and it affects your eating behavior. Be aware that it’s going to get to you – if you let it.  Try to cut down your exposure.  It’s insidious so heads up.  Don’t be taken in.  Some of it is up front – like TV commercials –and some isn’t – like product placement in television shows and the movies.  How can you not crave a fast food burger and fries or a glazed donut when you watch your favorite character happily munching away? The thought gets in your head and it just yanks your chain until you raid the fridge or head out to grab whatever it is that advertising has successfully planted.  Steer clear of the commercials or have diversionary tactics or food.  96% fat free microwave popcorn, Skinny Cow ice cream cones or cups, fruit, 100 calorie English muffins with fat free or low fat cream cheese and all fruit or sugar free jam are some suggestions for reasonable calorie controlled snacks.  Or, take the dog for a walk – just stay away from the corner deli.

Don’t swallow what an ad is preaching (and trying to sell).  Inform yourself about your choices – check out the nutritional content by going online and reading labels.  Give yourself license to make healthy picks – in restaurants and in the supermarket.  The choice of what you eat is yours – not the food company’s or the ad agency’s.

Burgers (Yes) Or Hotdogs (No) on Your Grill?

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Burgers – Is That A Yes?

Sort of.  A study just published in the journal Circulation analyzed the effects of eating red unprocessed meat  (100g a day of unprocessed beef, pork, or lamb) compared to processed meat products (50g of meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting, or with added chemical preservatives such as sausages, bacon, and salami).

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public health analyzed data from studies that looked at red and processed meat consumption and possible links to heart disease and diabetes. The studies included over 1.2 million people who were followed from 4 to 18 years. The conclusion:  red unprocessed meat isn’t associated with an increased risk of diabetes or coronary heart disease.  Eating the equivalent of one hot dog or two slices of deli meat a day (50 g of processed meat) is associated with a 42% higher risk of coronary heart disease and a 19% increased risk of diabetes.

Suspected Demons:  Salt And Preservatives

We’re used to the US guidelines that recommend eating less red and unprocessed meat  — but these guidelines are based on the projected effects of the saturated fat and cholesterol in the meat.  Red meat and processed meat contain a similar amount of both of these, but processed meat has about four times the amount of sodium and 50% more preservatives (like nitrates) than unprocessed red meat.

Conclusion:  this study (a systematic review of nearly 1,600 studies from around the world that looked for links between processed and unprocessed red meat and the risk of heart disease and diabetes) suggests that salt and other preservatives might explain the higher risk associated with processed meat.

What Kind Of Meat Are They Talking About?

This study defined processed meat as any meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting, or with added chemical preservatives. This includes bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs, and processed deli and lunch meat.  The unprocessed red meat included beef, lamb, and pork, but not poultry. On average, a 1.8 oz (50 g) daily serving of processed meat (half the weight of the unprocessed meat in the study), the equivalent of one to two slices of deli meat or one hot dog, was associated with a 42% higher risk of heart disease and a 19% higher risk of diabetes and they found no higher heart or diabetes risk in people who ate only unprocessed red meat.

The average nutrients in unprocessed red and processed meats in the United States contain similar average amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol. But processed meats have, on average, four times more sodium and 50% more nitrate preservatives.

Is This A Greenlight To Chow Down On Red Meat?

Not really. Eating unprocessed beef, pork, or lamb appears not to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes — but there is no reduced risk either. There’s also a suspected association between processed and unprocessed meats and a higher risk of some cancers (especially colorectal) so it will be important to evaluate unprocessed vs. processed meat and their effects on various cancers.

Although cause and effect can’t be proven by this long-term observational study, the results do suggest that the salt and preservatives in processed meat are culprits.

SocialDieter Tip:

You’ve heard this many times:  emphasize food that is protective:  fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and nuts. Minimize or avoid processed meats that are high in sodium, additives, and fat. This is not a free pass to eat red meat with abandon but it seems that having unprocessed red meat once or twice a week is a lot better than having processed meat — like bacon, hot dogs, processed ham, bologna, salami — every day.

As one of the lead authors, Renata Micha, of the study says, to lower your risk of heart attacks and diabetes think about the type of meat you’re eating and “processed meats such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs and processed deli meats may be the most important to avoid.”

If It’s Low In Fat Does It Mean It’s Low in Calories?

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Does Low Fat = Low Calorie?

No, No, and No!


What Does Low Fat and Low Calorie Mean?

Here’s the FDA definitions:

  • Low Fat – 3 grams fat or less per serving
  • Reduced or Less Fat — at least 25% less fat per serving than the “regular” full-fat food
  • Fat Free – Less than 0.5 gram of fat per serving
  • Low Calorie – Less than 40 calories per serving
  • Calorie Free – Less than 5 calories per serving
  • Light — At least 50% less fat or 1/3 fewer calories per serving than the “regular” full-fat version

Check The Serving Size, The Fat Grams, And the Calories

Remember to check the serving size listed on the Nutrition Facts panel of your food. If the food comes without a label there are tons of online resources to check portion sizes and the nutrition facts. Here’s a muffin example:  the  package label on a box of muffins lists the fat content – for one muffin – as 20 grams.  If the fat content per muffin is reduced to 15 grams per muffin, the muffin can be called reduced fat but it is still has five times more fat (in grams) than the 3g per serving that fits the guidelines for low fat.

When The Fat Comes Out – What Goes In?

Mostly sugar. In a lot of low fat and fat free foods, sugar, flour, and other full calorie ingredients, replace the fat.  Consequently, there’s very little, if any, reduction in calories.

Check these out:


Peanut Butter, 2 tablespoons:

  • Regular: 190 calories, 16g fat
  • Reduced fat: 190 calories, 12g fat

Wheat Thins (16 crackers):

  • Regular:  150 calories, 6g fat
  • Low Fat Wheat Thins:  130 calories; 4g fat

Oreos (3 cookies):

  • Original:  160 calories, 7g fat
  • Low Fat Oreos: 150 calories, 4.5g fat

Fig Newtons (2 cookies):

  • Regular:  110, 2g fat
  • Fat free:  100 calories, 0g fat

Granola (1/2 cup):

  • Regular:  210 calories, 6g fat
  • Low fat granola:  160 calories, 2.2g fat

Tortilla Chips (1 oz.):

  • Regular:   141 calories, 7.3g fat
  • Light tortilla chips:  132 calories, 4.3g fat

SocialDieter Tip:

Just because a product says it’s low fat or fat free don’t go hog wild and eat it with no concern.  There often isn’t much of a caloric difference between a low or fat free version of a food and the regular version because the fat that’s taken out is usually replaced with some full calorie combination of sugar and starch.

A Slice Of Cheese . . . Or Is It?

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It’s Orange-Yellow (Sometimes White) And It’s Square

It’s the stuff that grilled cheese – the diner kind and my childhood favorite – is made of.  It’s also the stuff the makes a hamburger a cheeseburger.  It melts but sort of stays in place without running all over the pan or the grill.  You can get it individually wrapped so it’s portable and, even though it gets soft, it can even sit in a lunchbox or on the car seat and still remain a square.

It’s also sold in blocks – think Velveeta, or in spray cans – think of Easy Cheese in summer camp and college dorms, but the way we see it most is as single slices, individually wrapped or slapped together in a plastic wrapped package of 16 or 32 and upwards.

Processed For Longevity

In 1911 Walter Gerber mixed hot shredded Emmentaler with sodium citrate and discovered a cooled product that took longer to spoil (and oozed potential profit).  James L. Kraft made a fortune selling cheese to the US government during the World War 1.

75% of the “cheese” sold in the US is now processed. Processed cheese goes for longevity:  it puts self-life before flavor. That’s just one of the technical advantages is has over “real,” unprocessed cheese.  It doesn’t separate when you cook with it, and it always tastes and looks the same. It’s cheaper to produce because it’s made from less expensive ingredients.

Heat It Up

Ever get gooey globs when you try to melt cheese?  Ever try to make cheese fondue and wonder how restaurants seem to get it nice and smooth (tip: mix the shredded cheese with some cornstarch).  Processed cheese makers use emulsifiers to produce cheese that melts smoothly when you cook with it. Prolonged heating causes unprocessed cheese to separate into a bunch of jelly-like protein and liquid fat.  Emulsifiers, most often sodium or potassium phosphate, tartrate, or citrate, reduce the tendency of the fat globules in the cheese to coalesce and pool on the surface of hot cheese.

So, because processed cheese doesn’t separate or run off when it’s melted, and it doesn’t change in texture or taste as you heat it – it has become the “go to” for grilled cheese, mac and cheese, nachos, and similar foods.

Why Can’t Those Singles Be Called Plain Old Cheese?

Because of processing and additives, some softer varieties can’t legally be labeled as “cheese” in the US (FDA regulated) so they’re sold as “cheese food”, “cheese spread,” or “cheese product,” based on the amount of cheese, moisture, and milkfat in them.

Processed cheese can be made from a single cheese or a blend of several cheeses along with milkfat, cream, water, salt, artificial color, and spices. Inexpensive milk protein concentrate makes the processed cheese a whole lot cheaper to produce – but begs the question:  is it really cheese?

Is It Really Cheese?

Take a good look the next time you’re in the supermarket: as a result of legislation some types of Kraft Singles became “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product” instead of “Pasteurized Process Cheese Food,” Velveeta became “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product” instead of “Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread,” and Easy Cheese is no longer “Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread” but is a “Pasteurized Cheese Snack.”

American cheese

The best known processed cheese in the US is the uniquely orange, yellow, or white, mild-flavored American cheese. It used to be made from a cheese blend, most often from Colby and Cheddar.  Today, American cheese isn’t generally made from a natural cheese blend, but from a manufactured bunch of ingredients such as milk, whey, milk fat, milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, and salt. When substitutes like these are used, the end product doesn’t always meet the legal definition of cheese and has to be labeled differently.

The marketing of “American Cheese” for “processed cheese” coupled with the prevalence of processed cheese in the U.S. has led to the term American cheese being used in the U.S. (and elsewhere) in place of processed cheese.

Some Facts

  • Calories in 2% Milk American Singles (1 slice, 19g)

50 Calories, 3g fat (2g saturated), 1g carbs, 4g protein

  • Calories in Kraft American Singles (1 slice, 19g)

60 calories, 4.5g fat (2.5f saturated), 1g carbs, 3g protein

  • Calories in Free Singles American Nonfat Pasteurized Process Cheese Product (1 slice, 21g)

31 Calories, 0.2g fat (0.1g saturated), 2.5g carbs, 4.8g protein

SocialDieter Tip:

A “pasteurized prepared cheese product” is a long way from nature and nourishment.  Just a heads up:  We drink about 60% of the milk we did 50 years ago, but we eat almost four times more cheese, an increase from 7.5 pounds to almost 30 pounds a person a year.  The increase is probably from the cheese in pizza, processed food, nachos, convenience food, and packaged products – not from good quality cheeses. Each 1 ounce serving of cheese (or 31/2 ounce serving of beef) rmeans a 7 gram increase in saturated fat (the bad kind of fat that, the kind that’s solid at room temperature and directly related to cardiovascular risk factors). Go for reduced fat or 2% cheese when you can.  There are fat free cheese slices – okay for sandwiches but not good for heating up – it doesn’t really melt.

Olive Oil Or Butter On Your Bread?

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Shiny Foil Packets Of Butter

It used to be only butter on bread – big slabs, small pots, or foil wrapped rectangles.  You can still find all of these – what would a diner be without those sometimes rock hard, sometimes soft and squishy, gold or silver foil wrapped butter packets?

Butter or Oil?

Butter has stiff competition from olive oil for bread sopping and dipping – as opposed to butter spreading.  Olive oil arrives green or golden, plain, herbed or spiced.  It can be just plopped down on your table, or poured with flourish from a dark tinted bottle.  Some restaurants offer a selection for dipping – and attempt to educate you about the variation in flavors depending upon the olives’ country of origin.

Hidden cameras in Italian restaurants showed that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread eat more fat and calories than if they use butter on their bread. But, the olive oil users end up eating fewer pieces of bread.

For the study, 341 restaurant goers were randomly given olive oil or blocks of butter with their bread. Following dinner, researchers calculated the amount of olive oil or butter and the amount of bread that was consumed.

How Much Butter, How Much Oil, How Much Bread?

Adult diners given olive oil for their bread used 26% more oil on each piece of bread compared to those who were given block butter, but they ended up eating 23% less bread in total.

The researchers found:

  • Olive oil users used 26% more olive oil on each slice of bread compared to block butter users (40 vs. 33 calories)
  • Olive oil users ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than the people who used butter

The olive oil users had a heavier hand than the butter users – for individual slices of bread.  However, over the course of the meal when the total amount of bread and either oil or butter was accounted for, the olive oil users used more per slice, but, overall they ate less bread and oil over the course of the meal. They also took in 17% fewer bread calories:  264 calories (oil eaters) vs. 319 calories (butter eaters).

SocialDieter Tip:

Butter, oil, and bread all add significant calories to a meal. A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, a tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, one pat of butter has around 36 calories.  Butter and oil are all fat; olive oil is loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat, butter is filled with heart unhealthy saturated fat.  Bread varies significantly in calories depending on the type of bread and the size of the piece.  Most white bread and French bread averages around 90 to 100 calories a slice. Most dinner rolls average 70 to 75 calories each. The bread and butter or olive oil pre-dinner (and maybe during dinner) ritual can be a real caloric bump for a meal, without much nutritional value.  So many of us chow down mindlessly on bread and butter or oil before a meal – because we’re hungry – or, because it’s there for easy nibbling.  Choose to eat it or don’t let the bread basket land on your table.  The choice is yours – just be mindful of the calories.