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A guided tour of the aisles
By PAMELA DAVIS © St. Petersburg Times, published January 10, 2001
Grocery stores, piled high with tempting goodies in fancy packages, have lured us for a long time. We know the healthy stuff is in there, but somehow the questionable stuff -- cookies, cakes and creams -- jumps off the shelves and into our carts. There's no way we can know everything about the thousands of items stocked in supermarkets, but to help us begin to figure it out the St. Petersburg-based Heart & Vascular Institute of Florida offers guided "Heart Smart" shopping tours of some Publix supermarkets in Pinellas County. The tours, limited to 12 people, have been taking place for the past four years and are guided by registered dietitians from the institute. About half of the participants are patients of the institute, living with heart conditions or diabetes, but, anyone, regardless of state of health, can sign up for a tour. The median age of participants is 45. All tours begin with classroom instruction, during which the group learns about nutrition and label reading. "Don't go to the store hungry," said Lanette Young, director of nutrition and diabetes at the institute and a registered dietitian, during a recent tour at the northeast St. Petersburg Publix. "You'll pick out whatever is fast, whatever is easy and whatever smells good." Most tours begin in the produce aisle. "This department is the one most people don't spend enough time in," said Karen Davidowitz, also a registered dietitian with the institute and Young's tour partner this day. "The first thing I would do to improve your diet is to start adding some of these foods." Davidowitz introduced the group to soy products, vegetarian alternatives and the convenience of salad in a bag. In the meat area, Young encouraged her students to try turkey products and informed them that the leanest ground beef is ground round and the fattest is ground chuck. "Sodium-wise, hot dogs are a nightmare," she said. "There's just not a low-sodium hot dog out there." "With chicken hot dogs," Davidowitz said, "you're going to think chicken is better, and they do have a big yellow sticker (on the package) that says 40 percent less fat, but one hot dog still has 10 grams of fat, so I don't know where they came up with 40 percent." The dietitians recommended products they've tried. "The fat-free cheese is sometimes not that exciting, but we do have some options," Davidowitz said. "Cracker Barrel is one of my favorite cheeses taste-wise, but fat-wise it might not be the best choice." In the frozen-food aisle, Davidowitz said she favors the vegetarian Boca Burger. Although it doesn't taste like a real hamburger, it comes closest to tasting like one, she said. Dodging shoppers, employees stocking shelves and free samples at every corner, the tour wound its way around the perimeter of Publix, making frequent stops. "Yogurt has got a lot of good things, protein, calcium, even some healthy bacteria," Davidowitz said as she stood in front of a vast array of yogurt containers, "but if you're thinking about sugars and carbohydrates you need to pay close attention to the label." "This one is called fat-free light and is sweetened with Aspartame," Young said. "If you have problems with NutraSweet, you may not want to include this, but where the others have 43 grams of carbohydrates this has only 21 grams. Diabetes-wise, it's a better choice." The group moved on to frozen dinners, where the dietitians discussed Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones and Healthy Choice. "They do have more sodium than if you'd cooked it yourself, but it still fits into a general heart-healthy diet," Davidowitz said. "They're pretty low in calories, and I'm usually still hungry after I eat one, so I'll have some fruit beforehand and maybe a yogurt afterward." "If portion control is a problem for you, this is easy because, when you're done, you're done," Young added. After the tour, Margaret Kengle of St. Petersburg was thinking about soy: "I'm kind of iffy about it, but I might try it. I was impressed when she said it that helps with menopause." Eunice Matheson of St. Petersburg said she would be focusing more on food labels. "And I'll be cutting down on the portions and taking more time when I grocery shop rather than just going in and picking things up," she said. "I was surprised there was so much sodium and saturated fat in the products. I was not aware of that." Tierra Verde resident Bill Shivers, who recently had open-heart surgery and has diabetes, and his wife Nancy planned on making changes as a result of the tour. They want to try some of the soy products and the lighter cheeses. "We found that you can eat really healthy," Bill Shivers said. "There are a lot of products available, but it takes an education to do it." Supermarket tourThe Heart & Vascular Institute of Florida sponsors a tour of the Pasadena Publix store, 6850 Gulfport Blvd., from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 23. The $12 fee covers the cost of the tour, recipes, coupons, label reading advice and low-fat refreshments. To register, call (727) 329-1615. Space is limited.
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