By Karen Collins

Nutrition

Q: To lose weight, I have a salad for lunch every day but this hasn’t worked - why not?

A: Having more salads is a wonderful way to get a wide variety of nutrients and health-promoting phytochemicals that lower our risk of cancer and other diseases. But if your salads are full of high-fat, high-calorie ingredients, they may be less helpful in losing weight than you think.

For example, each tablespoon of regular salad dressing contains 70 to 80 calories. The dressing ladles at many salad bars hold four times that amount, so one or more ladles of dressing can easily boost the calories and fat count. If you choose only marinated salads or mayonnaise-based foods like tuna salad or potato salad, you’ll also increase the calorie content.

On the other hand, perhaps your salad lunch is too lean. A poorly-balanced meal that neglects protein and grain products and severely limits calories often leads to major mid-afternoon hunger. A trip to the vending machine can add enough calories to more than make up for those saved at lunch.

Perhaps the key to your weight-loss goals lies in improving snack habits or boosting physical activity. Make sure your lunch is truly balanced - avoiding both excess and skimpiness - and then look at the rest of your daily habits, too.

Q: Does an “all-fruit” jam count as a serving of fruit?

A: Sorry, but no. A serving of fruit is equal to a half-cup, and surely you don’t love jam enough to put that much on your toast. If you’re having trouble meeting the recommendation of five to ten servings of fruits and vegetables a day, try choosing fruit for a snack.

If you find you’re e not hungry enough to include fruit for breakfast or lunch, perhaps you need to cut back on your portion of meat or grains to make room for more fruit or vegetables.

Q: Are sugar-free cookies only for diabetics, or for people trying to lose weight, too?

A: That sugar-free label is somewhat misleading. Such cookies might seem to be helpful for both blood sugar and weight control, but in reality they may not do much for either. Check the calorie count on the label and you’ll see that the sugar-free versions are not necessarily lower in calories than regular cookies.

Although people with diabetes have traditionally been taught to avoid sugar, new research and recommendation emphasize that it’s the total amount of carbohydrates in a food that influence blood sugar levels.

Since sugar-free cookies may still have the same amount of carbohydrate as regular cookies, the effects on blood sugar may not differ much either. The number and size of cookies eaten and how they fit into the overall quantity and types of food eaten all day will have a far greater influence on weight and blood sugar control that the type of cookie selected.

Collins is a registered dietitian for the American Institute for Cancer Research. Send your questions to “Nutrition-Wise,” c/o Town Crier, 1759 R St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009.