Interesting Food Facts to Gnaw On

We hadn’t cleaned off our desk in a while and, when we finally did, we found many items interesting enough to warrant discussion, but too short to fill an entire column. Some of these nutrition facts may come as a surprise.

Among them:

* Saltwater fish are no higher in sodium than freshwater fish because they have an internal regulatory system that keeps the flesh from taking up sodium from the water.

* Three-fourths of the food on your plate should consist of grains, vegetables, legumes and fruit, leaving just one-quarter for meat, poultry or fish.

* Americans get more vitamin C from oranges and orange juice than any other food. But the following foods contain as much C as an average orange: 1 cup of strawberries; one green bell pepper (red and yellow peppers have even more); one kiwi; or 1 cup of cooked broccoli, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts.

* A 2-ounce croissant contains about 14 grams of fat and 260 calories. Compared to an English muffin, that’s about 12 times as much fat and twice as many calories.

* Six strips of bacon contain 220 calories, 18 grams of fat (75% of the calories are fat) and 600 milligrams of sodium.

* Canned baked beans are usually low in fat, but be sure to check the label. Some contain 3-4 grams of fat from pork or hydrogenated vegetable oil in each 1/2-cup serving. Baked beans are loaded with fiber but are also usually very high in sodium.

* You should always drink the milk left over in your cereal bowl; many vitamins that are used to fortify cereals wind up in the milk.

* Spinach pasta has almost no spinach in it (less than a tablespoon in a cup of cooked pasta), so it isn’t any more nutritious than regular pasta. However, it is pretty and does have a slightly more interesting flavor than its more traditional cousin.

* Read the labels on those newfangled pretzels trying to cash in on the nonfat healthy-snack image of plain pretzels; some have high-fat gimmicks added, like peanut butter, chocolate and nuts.

* If you buy tofu, stay away from unwrapped tofu that is floating in open, un-refrigerated trays of water. These are bacteria farms that can make you sick if you don’t cook the tofu well before eating it. Look for commercially sealed packages.

* If you want to feel full on as few calories as possible, look at the following: Potatoes are the most filling food. Whole-grain bread is 50% more filling than white bread. Oranges and apples outscore bananas. Fish is more filling per calorie than lean beef or chicken. Popcorn is twice as filling as a candy bar or peanuts.

* If you have a particularly tough cut of meat, try rubbing half a kiwi over it about 30 minutes before cooking.

* Despite what your parents may have told you, nothing bad will happen if you swallow your gum. It’s made of a fiber that can’t be digested, so all you get out of it is the sugar or sugar substitute.

* The average American consumes about 50% more than the recommended daily allowance of protein.

* Yogurt has more than twice as much calcium as cottage cheese (300-450 milligrams per cup). That’s also more than milk, and yogurt can supply between 25% and 50% of most people’s daily needs.

* A slice of a traditional quiche provides about 48 grams of fat, 28 of which are saturated (more than half a day’s supply of total fat, and more than a whole day’s worth of saturated fat); about 285 milligrams of cholesterol (about a day’s worth).

* One cup of steamed, chopped broccoli (stalks and florets) provides 90% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin A (as beta carotene); 200% of the RDA for vitamin C; and 25% of your daily fiber needs.

* On average, Americans eat 50% more onions today than they did 15 years ago. Part of this is due to the increased popularity of various ethnic cuisines. Even at that, the Japanese and the Europeans eat lots more than we do.

* Parsley is more than just a pretty garnish. Fresh parsley contains quite a bit of beta carotene and vitamin C. In order to get 10% of the RDA, you need to eat about seven sprigs of it so try using it as a salad green.

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Dr. Sheldon Margen is a professor of public health at UC Berkeley; Dale A. Ogar is managing editor of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter. Send questions to Dale Ogar, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, or e-mail to daogar@wellnessletter.com. Eating Smart appears occasionally in Health.