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E-mail StoryAn inconvenient truth at the corner store
| Wednesday, Mar 26 2008 3:50 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Mar 27 2008 10:16 AM
Like that ice cream in back of your freezer or friend with a doughnut to share, convenience stores can chip away at your health-driven facade until you’re drowning in Snickers wrappers.
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Soup is a great convenience-food option, but watch the sodium.
Buying a jar of peanut butter is a better value, says dietitian Avtar Nijjer-Sidhu
Unless you're a high-performance athlete, most people don't need Gatorade, which is loaded with sugar, says dietitian Avtar Nijjer-Sidhu.
Nuts can be a little salty, but they're more filling and nutritious than candy.
Banana chips are a sem-healthy option but can be pricey.
They pop up on the way home from work, beckon when the gas gauge drops to E.
And locally, convenience stores are especially prevalent.
Thirty-five percent of retail food outlets in Kern are convenience stores, compared to 25 percent statewide, according to a 2007 study from the nonprofit, nonpartisan California Center for Public Health Advocacy.
Gas stations, corner stores and neighborhood markets also provide a main food source for people who don’t live near a supermarket, which makes healthy options even more important, said Avtar Nijjer-Sidhu, dietitian and community health capacity building specialist with the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Project. She also works with Get Moving Kern, a community coalition that promotes nutrition and exercise.
“There could be healthy things. Absolutely,” Nijjer-Sidhu said of convenience store offerings. “It just is a matter of training the consumer on what to look for.”
Nijjer-Sidhu took a tour of the 7-Eleven on Chester Lane with The Californian, determining what’s healthy, what’s not and healthy twists on convenience store staples.
QUICK MEAL OPTIONS
Nijjer-Sidhu goes to the back wall, which offers a wide variety of soups, ramen noodles and other quick meal options.
“Soup is really good. You’re getting some chicken. You’re getting some vegetables. You’re getting some noodles,” she said. “The concern is just the sodium.”
Most convenient, processed foods are higher in fat and salt, she said. People with conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes should stay away from sodium-rich foods.
The Food and Drug Administration suggests no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium a day for healthy adults. The Mayo Clinic puts the limit for people with those conditions at about 1,500 milligrams a day.
The can of Campbell’s Chunky soup Nijjer-Sidhu picks up has 890 grams of salt per cup.
Then she comes to Cup Noodles, a staple of almost anyone living on a tight budget.
“These noodles have been fried first,” she said.
HEALTHY OPTIONS
Get some tuna, preferably not packed in vegetable oil, and some wheat or whole grain bread to make a sandwich. You could also put tuna on crackers.
Add water to soup to dilute it. Pick soups with low-sodium broth.
Buy some frozen vegetables and add them to the soup.
“You don’t really reduce the salt,” she said. “But what you do is enhance the soup.”
Ingredients, side dishes
Nijjer-Sidhu picks up a package of Jif To Go peanut butter, which includes four individual cups.
“Each cup is about 32 grams of fat, and it is so easy to eat one cup without even realizing it,” she said. “If you buy a jar, it’s going to last you longer, and you can spread it out over time.”
Healthy options: Applesauce is a good dessert or appetizer for children and could be counted as one serving of fruit (1 to 2 cups is recommended daily). You can also use it to reduce the fat in a recipe by substituting it for butter or oil.
Fruit cups are a good choice. Look for fruit in light syrup, or drain the syrup before eating.
Breakfast
Surveying the cereal choices, Nijjer-Sidhu says to look for cereals with whole grain or whole wheat. Some cereals have too many carbohydrates and too much sugar, like Froot Loops.
Corn flakes is a great option.
Nijjer-Sidhu finds a cup of 7-Eleven-brand organic oatmeal hiding behind some Mini Chips Ahoy and Froot Loops Grab’n Go cups.
“If there’s a greater demand, there will probably be more of these,” she said, motioning toward the oatmeal and a similar cup of Kashi cereal. “There is certainly a shift toward people in general wanting healthier options, even if they have limited resources and limited supplies.”
Healthy options: Add some fruit to a bowl of cereal.
“If you have young children who only like cereals with a lot of sugar in them, what you can do is mix in some of the high-grain cereals,” she said. “Little bits at a time, to get them accustomed.”
SNACKS, BAKED GOODS
Nijjer-Sidhu finds a bag of Garden Harvest toasted banana chips that advertises “100% whole grain” and “1/2 serving of fruit.”
“The plus side is you’re getting some whole grain benefits,” she said. “The downfall is they’re expensive. It’s $3.49.
“Most people think, ‘I can get a whole dollar meal at McDonald’s for $3 and some odd cents and be fuller than with a bag of chips.’”
People buy the baked goods for a sugar rush, but that feeling doesn’t last long or satiate hunger, she said.
Baked goods are also notorious for trans fat, a substance created when manufacturers to give food a longer shelf life. Trans fat has been shown to raise cholesterol and heart disease risk.
Trans fat is found in margarine, butter and oils, she said.
Healthy options: Try not to eat baked goods if possible. At the least, reduce consumption.
If you’re in need of a salty fix, grab some pretzels. They’re baked, low in fat and relatively cheap.
String cheese is also good.
The candy/snack aisle
“I’m not sure if I know the best candy to get,” Nijjer-Sidhu said surveying the candy choices.
A lot of the candy has definite pros and cons.
For example, look at candy corn. It’s low in fat but has “tons of sugar,” she said.
And beef jerky: You get protein, but it’s high in fat.
Both of these have less fat than candy bars, though, she said.
Nijjer-Sidhu picks up a 3 Musketeers bar, which advertises “45% less fat.”
One bar has 260 calories and 8 grams of fat, which is about 1/7th the calories most people should get in a day, and 1/8th the fat.
Healthy options: Pick nuts. While they can be high in sodium, nuts are more filling and have more nutrients than chocolate or chips.
Sunflower seeds are a natural source of vitamins and protein.
Also, trail mix can be a good option. Just be mindful of the serving size.
Energy foods, drinks
Near the candy, Nijjer-Sidhu finds the PowerBars.
“I think of it as a better option for a quick fix,” she said. “Part of the reason I don’t think of it as a health food is because one of the first ingredients on here is high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is never a health food.”
Similar to PowerBars, Gatorade isn’t needed by most people.
“Unless you’re an extreme athlete, you’re not losing a lot of electrolytes,” she said. “It’s a way to make people believe that if you’re not drinking water, drink Gatorade.”
But most of what Gatorade drinkers, along with people who drink water infused with vitamins and antioxidants, get is a lot of sugar and water. The second ingredient listed on Gatorade’s label is high fructose corn syrup.
Be aware of drinks that look like juices but are really labeled as “flavored juice drinks.” They are packed with sugar.
And energy drinks have lots of carbohydrates. A 24-ounce Rockstar has 31 grams of carbs per cup. If you drank the entire can, that’s 90 grams.
“You replaced a whole meal drinking this,” she said. “All that you’re paying for is the caffeine and sugar. You can easily get it from foods.”
Healthy options: Drink water, but If you don’t like water, go for flavored water with no calories, fat, sugars or carbs.
The refrigerated section
Cookie dough. Cinnamon buns.
One would think these were pastry items, not Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors, Nijjer-Sidhu said.
“It’s easy to eat a pint before you know it,” she said. “And it’s really high in fat.”
One pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has 1,080 calories and 60 grams of fat.
A few boxes of Lunchables are also scattered in the section. Nijjer-Sidhu is not a fan.
“For a few crackers, slices of cheese, ham, they’re too expensive,” she said. “And you could do the same thing for a lot less and really gauge how much you want.”
Buy skim milk if you can.
Skim milk has no fat in it and is a great source of calcium, she said. Two percent milk has 5 grams of fat per cup, and whole milk has 8 grams per cup.
Healthy options: Processed foods like chicken nuggets, pizza and buffalo wings aren’t healthy. If you must eat them, chop up chicken nuggets and buffalo wings and put them in a salad or casserole.
Put some vegetables on a pizza.
Buy some cottage cheese and mix in some fresh or canned fruit or applesauce.
TAKE ACTION
Going to a supermarket and eating fresh fruits and vegetables is best, but for a quick meal, Nijjer-Sidhu found several options.
When evaluating meals for yourself, she suggests:
• Always look at how many servings are in a bag or container.
• Look for items that say “baked,” “no trans fat,” “low sodium” and “no sugar added.”
• Talk to store owners about stocking more fresh fruits and vegetables.
“If the consumer says to the owner, ‘I want to see more of these items,’” she said, “that’s a really good start.”