What's Missing from Your Meals?

For years, foods have been tagged either "good" or "bad," but nutritionists are now realizing that a healthy diet has less to do with specific choices than with eating patterns. That is, just because you're loading up on spinach doesn't mean your body is getting everything it needs.
In a new study, Dr. Frank Hu, assistant professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, has found that eating patterns have a more telling effect on heart health than the simple consumption of fatty foods. While Hu's report won't be out till later this year, sports nutritionists we spoke to say they've long noticed three distinct eating patterns. Which one do you fall into?

1. If you had to choose your favorite breakfast, it would be
A. toasted bagel with jelly
B. blueberry pancakes with butter and maple syrup, and sausage links
C. two eggs, bacon and protein shake

2. At the mall, the food court is your only option. Where to?
A. Jack and the Organic Bean Stalk (sprout salad and sourdough roll)
B. Jackie Chang's Magic Wok (General Tso's chicken and dumplings)
C. Belching Jack's Burger Joint (bacon cheeseburger, hold the bun)

3. You're out with friends at the local bistro. You'll have the
A. mesclun salad, no dressing, penne primavera, and how about another basket of garlic bread for the table
B. filet mignon, with a double side of home fries
C. filet mignon, with a side of steamed green beans

4. And when the dessert cart rolls out, what's your pleasure?
A. mint tea and biscotti
B. crème brûlée
C. cheese plate

5. Friday means lunch in the cafeteria. What's on your tray?
A. couscous, corn and water
B. lasagna and buttered corn bread
C. baked fish of the day

6. Snack time at the vending machine. What does your buck buy?
A. pretzels
B. Snickers
C. beef jerky

7. When you stop at Starbucks on the way to work, you order
A. coffee with skim milk and a sesame-seed bagel
B. hot cocoa with whipped cream
C. triple-soy latte

8. You know no one at this party. You grab a plate and head for
A. pita bread triangles with a tiny dab of hummus
B. potato chips
C. deviled eggs and beef kabobs

9. O.K., you're no vegetarian, but where's the beef?
A. in the grocer's freezer -- not yours
B. between the sesame-seed bun, next to the fries
C. sizzling on the grill, fat trimmed

10. You're trapped on I-95. What's in the cooler?
A. unbuttered, unsalted popcorn, rice cakes and Diet Snapple
B. Ring Dings, Oreos and Mountain Dew
C. energy bars, nuts and Evian

ANSWERS

Mostly A's: The Carbo-phile
Your boycott of fats and proteins means you're running out of steam by noon, you can't keep your eye on the ball -- even your hair and nails are in sorry shape.
What you need: "Variety," says Douglas Kalman, a physiologist at Peak Wellness, a medical-fitness center in Greenwich, Conn. Start with protein. To build muscle and fuel your activity -- whatever it is -- protein should make up 15% to 20% of your diet.
Next, add fat. If your diet consists of less than 30% fat, you're denying yourself an important energy source. "It's also essential for storing fat-soluble vitamins and protecting your organs," says Edmund Burke, director of exercise science at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
Tips to get you started: Substitute grilled tuna for the penne; top half a bagel with a poached egg; add skinless grilled-chicken strips to a salad.

Mostly B's: The Fat Fan
Too much fat -- whether you burn it off or not -- can sabotage your diet. First, it fills you up, making you likely to skip other foods, like vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables. Second, excess fat can make you sluggish. Third, over time too much of the saturated kind (butter, fatty meat) makes you more susceptible to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, perhaps even cancer.
Making over your eating habits is a matter of controlling portion size and mixing nutritious foods with your old faves. Research suggests that athletes may need a bigger dose of certain vitamins (particularly the B's) than sedentary folks. "Vitamins help convert food to energy," says Kalman, "and that's a process that's especially crucial to athletic performance."
Tips to get you started: Replace the ham in your omelet with half a cup of steamed vegetables; cook with olive oil, not butter; stock your backpack with a couple oranges or bananas for fat-free snacking.

Mostly C's: The Protein Junkie
The idea: Cut carbs, pile on protein, build muscle, lose weight. The reality: "When you avoid a whole class of foods," says Kalman, "you miss a whole class of nutrients," namely vitamins, minerals and fiber. As an active woman, you may be tiring quickly and feeling run-down, plus risking hypoglycemia and ketosis (harmful levels of acids in the blood).
Try trading a few high-fat protein picks for low-fat ones, and reacquaint yourself with carbs. If you work out an hour a day, carbs should make up half of your daily calories. If you're on a team and practice a couple of hours a day, you may need 60% -- even more if you're an endurance athlete.
Tips to get you started: Enrich your diet with complex carbs (which pack vitamins, minerals and fiber), such as a toasted whole-wheat English muffin, eight ounces of low-fat yogurt, a small green salad and a cup of broccoli.

 
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