Food for finals
Los Angeles is known as a national center for the latest trends, whether in the fashion, film or music world. The city also holds a population constantly up-to-date with the most recent health and diet fads. From the organic stores and restaurants inundating Westwood to the fitness centers across the city, the majority of L.A. residents definitely admit to having an obsession with keeping healthy. But how smart are people, really, when it comes to nutrition, and how many have been misled by products masquerading as “nutritious?” Here are just a few foods that many students commonly choose as healthy alternatives during finals week; on closer examination, their true nutritional values might be surprising!
““ Compiled by Laura Picklesimer, Lauren Evans and Kirsten Aoun
Jamba Juice
Smoothies could be considered the fast food of this generation. But are these fruity concoctions a clever way for students to get their recommended five fruits a day, or a trendy way to sell the dietary equivalent of an adult Icee?
The truth is that smoothies are somewhat healthy, but not the super foods that many students think they are. While some of the smoothies are high in essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, they are surprisingly high in sugar.
According to the Jamba Juice Web site, one of the most popular smoothie companies among students, Jamba Juice does “not add any processed sugar or flavor-enhancing additives to (their) juices.” What Jamba Juice fails to mention is the high sugar content of sherbet and nonfat frozen yogurt, which are the second or third heaviest ingredients in their classic blends.
In an Original size (24 oz.) Aloha Pineapple, there are 110 grams of sugar, 500 calories and 117 grams of carbohydrates (39% of the Daily Recommended Value), according to the store’s menu. This is comparable to a 24 oz. Strawberry Icee, which has less sugar (87 grams), fewer calories (351), and a lower dose of carbohydrates (87 grams).
While an Icee does not supply the vitamins, fiber and protein of a smoothie, its comparable sugar content may come as a surprise to many students who thought they were drinking something healthy.
This was the reaction of third-year marine biology student Jessie McKnight, who took the initiative by visiting Jamba Juice’s Web site and reading the nutrition information.
“Hey, it’s not as healthy as you think,” she said, adding that now she usually gets all-fruit smoothies.
HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE: A healthier option when ordering is getting an all-fruit smoothie, asking them to replace the drink’s juice blend with 100% fresh-squeezed orange juice, or ordering a smaller smoothie. With these small adjustments, according to McKnight, “You come out feeling better.”
Trail mix
Trail mix flies under the radar as one of those snacks you should really watch out for. When consumed in moderation, the fats and oils can be beneficial to your body, but most people do not pay attention to how much they’re eating.
Christian Roberts, professor of physiological science, explained his concerns about trail mix.
“Trail mix is very calorically dense,” he said. “When you’re talking about nuts, you’ve got to eat them in moderation, like the amount that you can fit in your hand. It’s not all unsaturated fat ““ a lot of unsaturated fat ““ but it’s not all unsaturated fat.”
An average serving of trail mix is one cup, and this amount contains 693 calories, with 397 calories from fat, according to calorie-count.com, a Web site that works in conjunction with about.com’s health section. That’s more calories than a Big Mac!
People assume that trail mix is good for them because of the current obsession with low carb diets. Nuts may be low carb, but they can also become very unhealthy when a person consumes too many of them.
HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE: Roberts suggests having trail mix with some fruit or other types of nuts and seeds instead of just nuts. For example, students could try pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds and a little bit of dried fruit. It’s still calorically dense, but you’re getting more nutrients, Roberts said.
Frozen yogurt
Though frozen yogurt may seem like a healthier option than ice cream, in reality, the sugar content is still a problem.
For example, in one serving of Baskin-Robbins’s Gold Medal Ribbon ice cream, there are 33 grams of sugar, and in one serving of their Vanilla Nonfat Soft Serve frozen yogurt, there are 22 grams (or in another words, still a lot), according to baskinrobbins.com.
The sugar in ice cream and frozen yogurt is a simple carbohydrate, which generally exists in foods with low nutrition value, such as cookies, muffins and candy.
Danielle Boydston, a third-year linguistics student, expressed disbelief at this revelation.
“That’s really surprising to me,” Boydston said. “I always feel a lot better about myself when I have frozen yogurt as opposed to ice cream.”
Another factor that contributes to the unhealthiness of frozen yogurt is its growing portion size. According to UCLA Student Nutrition Action Committee (SNAC), an average serving of frozen yogurt should be half a cup (110 calories), but the modern-day serving size is a pint (440 calories). That’s quite a difference.
HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE: If you want a healthier dessert option, try whole fruit with yogurt that’s not frozen. It contains natural sugars, fructose and lactose, which are good for your body and aren’t full of empty calories.
Salads
Forgoing a burger for a salad might seem to many like the obviously healthier choice.
But many people fail to realize how quickly salads can accumulate fat and calories through dressing and toppings.
“Many people take salad, a meal that’s relatively healthy, and make it relatively unhealthy,” Roberts said.
Creamy dressings like ranch, Caesar and bleu cheese can easily add about an extra 35 grams of fat, the same amount of fat in a Crossroads cheeseburger.
Case in point: Regular Kraft ranch dressing carries 148 calories, 16 grams of fat and 2.5 grams of saturated fat per two tablespoons, according to calorie-count.com. Litehouse’s Chunky Bleu Cheese dressing has 150 calories, 16 grams of fat and 1.5 grams of saturated fat per two tablespoons, according to their Web site.
If you put about four tablespoons on your salad like most people do, you’re already up to 32 grams of fat on your plate for each of these dressings.
Tossing in a lot of cheese, croutons or wontons (which are usually fried and heavy on sodium) also prevents the salad from being a nutritious option.
HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE: Avoid particularly thick, creamy dressings and instead order light dressings like vinaigrettes on the side. Opt for lean meats or tofu in the salad, rather than foods like bacon bits. Pass on the croutons for healthier toppings like vegetables and fruit.
Cereal
It’s no secret that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For many students, however, the second or third ingredient by weight in the most important meal of their day is sugar.
In college, cold cereal seems to become the ideal meal, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. While some cereals do provide vitamin fortification and fiber, many “healthy cereals” can be deceiving.
Sugar is the second ingredient in General Mills’ Total, the third ingredient in Kellogg’s Special K, and the third ingredient in Post’s Honey Bunches of Oats.
The problem with this, according to UCLA’s Student Nutrition Action Committee, is that “simple added sugars (as well as many refined, low-fiber starchy foods) are digested and absorbed more quickly, resulting in a rapid increase in blood sugar levels,” compared to sugar that is found naturally in food such as fruit.
Basically this means that after eating sugary cereal for breakfast ““ or whatever meal they eat it for ““ students will be hungry faster.
While the high fiber and protein content in some cereals, such as Kellogg’s Smart Start, will ward off hunger, this can be counteracted by the high sugar content. In one and a quarter cups of Smart Start there are 17 grams of sugar, 230 calories and 46 grams of carbohydrates, according to kelloggs.com. This is comparable to one and a quarter cups of General Mills’ Lucky Charms, which has 20 grams of sugar, 183 calories and 37 grams of carbohydrates.
HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE: According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site, if you’re concerned about your intake of sugars, make sure that added sugars are not listed as one of the first few ingredients.
Beware of other names for added sugars, like corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey and maple syrup. Try eating oatmeal instead.
Bagels
Need a quick and easy breakfast? How about a bagel?
Better think twice before making this spontaneous decision.
An average plain bagel contains 350 calories, and when served with cream cheese, it can have as much as 450 calories, Roberts said.
While this might not seem like an absurd amount of calories for a meal, a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut only has 200 calories, according to krispykreme.com.
Roberts explains that although a doughnut may be a little less healthy, the difference is merely negligible.
“Although (a bagel) may have less fat than a doughnut, it’s really not that much difference in terms of how unhealthy it is,” Roberts said. “It’s a little more unhealthy, but most of it’s just refined carbohydrates.”
Although these carbohydrates in bagels begin as complex carbohydrates (the kind that’s better for you), refining them removes all of the nutrients and fibers, leaving a starchy, essentially nutrient-void product.
Weslee Janisen, a first-year global studies student, was surprised to find that bagels are about the same health-wise as doughnuts.
“I feel like I’m always being a lot healthier when I pick a bagel over a doughnut,” he said. “If I knew that the health value was so similar, I would probably just get the doughnut.”
HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE:
“If you’re going to eat a bagel, you should have a small whole-wheat bagel, and you should have it with something else,” Roberts advises. “You want to have it with a little bit of fruit and a little bit of protein, something else to minimize the effect on your blood glucose that would probably spike if you had a white bagel.”
