Daily HealthBeat Tip

Defensive eating

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I�m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Even with today�s gas prices, vacation time puts a lot of us on the highway.

We know we should practice defensive driving on the road � trying to foresee trouble so we can act to avoid it.

Maybe we can extend that idea when we pull off the road, and practice defensive eating � trying to foresee where extra calories may come, so we can avoid them.

For instance, it may not be the food you think that causes the trouble. It could be the extras. The Food and Drug Administration�s Anne Crawford:

"You can ask for sauces and condiments on the side, so that you control how much goes on your salad or on your burger." (seven seconds)

Also, fruits and vegetables should be plentiful � and fairly cheap at this time of year. From a calorie point of view, they�re low octane.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: July 14, 2006

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