Watching what you eat is all about know-how
We’re a group of seven: A married couple in their 60s, a man in his 50s, two mothers of young children, one lady in her 60s, and then myself, a time-poor working mother of two who is somewhat cynical about this enterprise.
Everyone here has spent €25 to go on a tour of a supermarket with a dietician from the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork. When I heard about these supermarket shopping tours, I burst out laughing. “For people with more money than sense,” I snorted.
Would it be a case of a dietician walking us up to the meat counter where he or she would intone about the evils of red meat? Then would we be careered around to the fizzy drinks and confectionery aisle where there would be another spate of finger wagging?
Such was my sniggering and scepticism that the news editor dispatched me to said supermarket to attend the first ever Bon Secours Supermarket Shopping Tour — and so here I am, complete with clipboard, folder, and pen.
Our guide is Billy Murphy, a ridiculously fit and healthy looking dietician. He goes around the group asking why we’re all here. Eamonn pats his stomach and says it’s self-evident why he’s here. He wants to lose weight. Suzanne says she has three small children and is worried about sugar hidden in foods such as cereal. Norma and John are married and John had cancer several years ago. Since his illness, Norma has become increasingly interested in the importance of a good diet. Meanwhile, Ann wants to know more about food labels which she finds a minefield.
“I’d be interested to see if what I am eating really is the healthy option,” said John while Eamonn nods.
“I was told years ago that you shouldn’t drink Coca-Cola, diet or non-diet — under any circumstances. That it was very bad for you. Now I’m told you can drink Coke Zero in moderation. There’s so much confusion about what’s good and what’s bad.”
Before we get going, Billy gives us a four basic tips that he says will keep us eating healthily.
“First of all, ‘come back to earth’. The less processed the food the better, the more wholegrain, the more wholemeal, the more fruit and vegetable, the better. Secondly, ‘eat a rainbow often’. Very often we stick with the same vegetables and fruit. Go for variety in your fruit and veg and eat as many different colours as you can.
“The third thing is crude but in relation to protein, ‘the less legs the better’. That means generally fish and chicken are more healthy. But balance is key with diet. And the fourth thing: ‘eat fats that give something back’. We always have this perception that all fats are bad. But a great many fats are very important for brain and for cardiovascular health. Eat good fats and avoid the bad like trans fats or hydrogenated fats.”
The next 90 minutes flies by. Our first stop is the fruit and vegetable section.
“Go across all the colours in your shopping trolley. Green vegetables are a great source of foliate and iron while there is vitamin C and carotene in carrots. Tomatoes and peppers are a rich source of lycopene, very important in the fight against cancer. They say to eat five fruit and veg a day but eat more if you want. Eating more fruit might be an issue for diabetics but for more people it’s not a problem, ” he says.
Ann asks if bananas should be avoided as people say they’re fattening. Billy shakes his head. “Banana is equivalent to two small pieces of fruit in sugar terms but I wouldn’t avoid it. If you have diabetes maybe, don’t eat too much but in general, they are a good food.”
Over the course of the morning, Billy does much to dispel these grocery myths that have arisen over time. People sometimes avoid avocado because of its high fat content. Billy points out that it is a rich source of potassium and vitamin K and that it’s much healthier to be eating avocado than biscuits.
At the bread counter, Billy acknowledges shoppers are often overwhelmed by choice. “They’re looking at wholemeal, wholegrain, low fibre and seed breads, for instance, wondering what’s the difference? To be fair, wholemeal, wholegrain and granary are very similar. They’re a good bread to go for whereas the plain brown is often just white bread.”
People often attend nutritionist talks if they recently have been diagnosed with a food-related illness such as diabetes, are battling a growing waistline or have been warned about blood pressure. In general, such talks are educational and a questions and answers sessions afterwards can be informative.
However, what made our tour recommendable was its setting. A supermarket is where most of us do 90% of our shopping, so it’s the ideal place to pick the brains of a dietician. Billy used the food around us to inspire people to be more adventurous while warning us of dietary pitfalls, such as sausages. We were also warned about portion size. “If something is 95% fat free, if you eat five portions of that you are still eating 25g of fat. Be conscious of that. Even when something is low in fat, portion size matters.”
AND then for red meat. “Red meat does have lots of iron and keeps haemoglobin levels up which will give you energy. But you don’t need to eat it more than three times a week and go for your leaner cuts, lean mincemeat for instance, and remember there’s no need to use oil to fry it.”
When shopping for fish, be aware that if it smells, it’s not really fresh, we were also told. Fresh food won’t smell, Billy said, and it’s eyes will bulge out if it’s freshly caught. Oily fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon are recommended as a good source of omega fats which help reduce cardiovascular illness.
Billy came into his own when it came to pointing out sneaky marketing ploys that food companies use to sell their food as healthy. He warned us about fat-free ready meals, for instance. Something that has less than 5g of fat per 100g can be labelled as 95% fat free. However, if one serving size equals 400g of the food, that’s actually 20g of fat which “really is a lot of fat”, he warned. As a ballpark guide, he said 3g of fat was low fat while 20g was at the opposite end of the health spectrum.
We covered all the food groups on the tour and to be honest, I found myself at home that night trying to create a rainbow of colour and picking up jars in the fridge checking the fat content. The tour certainly was a wake-up call.
As for the participants: Suzanne, the mother of three described the tour as “immensely enjoyable and informative”.
“I loved the fact that it was very structured. We went through all the food types. It was also incredible to see all the marketing gimmicks that are being used on us. Knowing the difference between low fat, reduced fat etc will be very useful in the future.”
* The supermarket healthy eating tours cost €25 for 90 minutes in small groups of 6-8. Individual tours can also be arranged for €150. Contact the Bons Secours nutrition and Dietetics Dept at 021 494 930.
* See footage of Billy Murphy’s food advice at irishexaminer.com
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