Healthy Eating Tips

8 Pet Peeves of Top Dietitians

These nutrition gurus dole out advice left and right, and they have some serious beefs when it comes to the current concepts of food
By Carrie Stevens fitbie
 

Dietitian Pet Peeve #5: Assuming Fat-Free Foods Are Low-Calorie

Listen up, folks—fat-free and low-calorie foods might seem like nutritional freebies, but dietitians want to debunk this misconception. A lot of the time, White says, removing calories from fat means adding more sugar, which results in a more processed product. “Just because it’s a low-cal version doesn’t mean we have a license to eat more. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie.”

Right the wrong

White advises incorporating both regular and fat-free food items into your diet. Milk and condiments are good places to substitute fat-free or reduced-calorie options. However, White says to buy items like cheese and peanut butter in their regular versions. Full-fat cheese is an excellent source of casein protein, a muscle-building nutrient. When food companies nix the healthy fats in PB, they substitute the carbohydrate maltodextrin, which acts as a filler. Basically, you swap healthy fats for empty carbs and twice the amount of sugar, and all you save is a paltry 10 calories.

More: The Truth About Calories

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