Calorie Counts are Frequently Off

Overall, as I've said many times, I tend to be a fan of calorie labeling in restaurants and other eating establishments because I think they motivate people to think a little more closely about what they want to "spend" their calories on the way we also consider what to spend our dollars on. I've also expressed that I worry that some people could become a little obsessed (who likely would look up calorie content online even if it weren't posted on a menu), and unfortunately, this bit from Time isn't going to help anyone chill out.

Susan Roberts, professor at Tufts, along with Jean Mayer of Tufts' USDA Nutrition Research Center on Aging decided to analyze an array of restaurant and frozen food items, taking care to select the ones dieters might be most likely to reach for. Sure enough, the calorie counts posted on labels and menus were off by as much as 18% for restaurant foods and 8% for frozen foods.

I think the main thing I would take away from the article is that even when an item is said to contain a certain number of calories, your best bet is really to listen to the cues your body sends you. Eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full, for most people (myself included), sounds simpler than it is in practice, but mindful eating is something to work towards.

For a laugh, you could try practicing on a raisin. The Center for Mindful Eating is a really interesting organization, and their website is worth checking out. You might also want to read this post I wrote last summer for Five Seasons Healing, an acupuncture practice in Union Square.

Could calorie labeling become part of health reform?

Included in the 1,990-page health care reform bill introduced by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was an outline for general nutrient-labeling requirements for restaurants and retail outlets with 20 or more outlets.

Affected restaurants would be required to prominently post calorie counts on menus and menu boards as well as calories per serving for items in salad bars and self-serve set-ups. They would also be required to post a reminder about the recommended daily caloric intake to help put all those numbers in context as well as let customers know that more nutritional information on their menu items is available upon request.

Vending machines would also be subject to calorie-posting rules.

Read more here.

Personally, I don't see much harm in informing the public—I think that this information can help people make good choices for themselves. Of course, it makes it easier for obsessors to obsess, but a lot of people in that boat look up calorie counts online anyway. I don't think it's necessarily the cure to all our country's diet-related health problems, but I usually am in favor of educating people.

For some, this could have a positive impact, and for others, it could have no impact. You wouldn't really be able to tell the overall effect for a while after substantial research, but I'm interested to find out if it works.

Awesome Blossom: No longer in season

After this 2,710 calorie fried-onion-and-dip appetizer appeared on a "20 Worst Foods in America" list by the authors of Eat This, Not That!, Chili's finally decided to pull the dish from its menu. More info here.

I've always been more into sweets than greasy stuff, so I won't miss this fried flower, but if you're this news really bums you out, you can get your fix at Dallas BBQ in New York. You may recall from my May post about a trip I took there with friends visiting from Paris. Everything is bigger at Dallas BBQ, including the curiously crispy "onion loaf" (pictured).

I don't know if I want to go so far as to say I wish all restaurants would stop serving stuff like that (this is a free country, after all), but I do wish that portions would be regulated a little more closely. A few onion rings won't kill 'ya, and they make a nice accent, but a loaf really doesn't give you much nutritional value for your money—just empty calories.

Wouldn't you rather eat something that will give you energy to go do whatever it is you've got going on after lunch? To someone studying nutrition, it seems pretty basic, I guess, but I can understand how tough it can be to filter through all the FAT SUGAR SALT signals we are constantly being sent. What I really wish is that there were a way to make nourishing foods marketable. Maybe if we found a way to make them affordable, hm?

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

On Nutrition Action's website, they have a list posted of the ten best and worst foods.

Some of the worst include a frozen pot pie, Dove ice cream, and a dessert from the Cheesecake Factory.

Best include sweet potatoes, salmon, grape tomatoes, and dark, leafy greens.

No real surprises on there, though some of the captions are interesting and entertaining. For example, if you eat one five-inch-high slice of "Chris' Outrageous Chocolate Cake," you take in 1,380 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat and 5 grams of trans fat—that's like having two McDonald's Quarter-Pounders and a large fries. For dessert. Fun stuff.

That's an interesting comparison, and while I want to say that no one could ever finish a piece of cake that big, there are lots of people who just plow through that stuff. Still, it sounds like damn good cake—chocolate cake, brownie, chewy pecan filling, chocolate-chip cheesecake...

If you share with a friend (or three), you can still enjoy a little.

I wish restaurants would offer mini-desserts. People's perception of portion sizes is so out of whack, it could help to have someone make it easy. There are plenty of ways to still make that profitable...