Most Americans love to eat out! Many of us eat out, often at fast food establishments, a few times a week.

The American Dietetic Association (eatright.org) is a good source of information on how to eat healthy when you eat out. Here are their suggestions:

• If you are going to begin the day by eating out, build a better breakfast sandwich by replacing sausage or bacon with Canadian ham or regular ham and have it on whole grain toast, or bagel or English Muffin.
• If you are going to eat out at a sandwich shop, choose lean beef, ham, turkey or chicken on whole grain bread. Use mustard, ketchup, salsa or low fat spreads. in place of fries or chips, choose a side salad or fruit, or if you must have fries, share with someone else.
• If you are at a salad bar, pile on the leafy greens, then choose carrots, peppers and other fresh veggies. Go lightly on choosing mayonnaise-based salads and high-fat toppings.
• Eating in a restaurant? Eat your low calorie food first, filling up on salad and soup followed by a light main course. Have all sauces and dressing on the side, for dipping, not pouring. Order one dessert and forks  for sharing with companions.
• Avoid all you can eat buffet and unlimited salad bars if you know you tend eat too much at these venues.
• Take size into consideration when ordering muffins, bagels, croissants and biscuits. Jumbo sizes mean jumbo calories and lots more fat.
• Does your eat out mean grabbing dinner at the hot table in the supermarket or the deli section? If so, choose rotisserie chicken, salad in a bag and fresh bread. Another good choice-lean roast beef, onion rolls potato salad and fresh fruit.

If, for you,  eat out means eating at your desk at work, keep single serving packages of crackers, fruit, peanut butter, soup, or tuna in your desk.

Did you ever read the salt content of fast foods? Scary! What is even scarier is the news that the same fast foods sold abroad have less salt in them.

According to a study that appeared in the April 16 issues of the  Canadian Medical Association’s journal, CMAJ there are significant differences in the amount of salt in fast foods sold in fast-food restaurants in the U.S., Canada and other countries.

Study researchers examined the salt content of more than 2,100 food items in seven product categories sold by Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Subway in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Researchers found that McDonald’s fast food Chicken McNuggets in Canada contained 2.5 times more sodium than those in the United Kingdom. There were 600 milligrams of sodium (1.5 grams of salt) in a 3.5-ounce serving in Canada, but the same serving size in the United Kingdom contained 240 milligrams of sodium (0.6 grams of salt).

Norman Campbell, of the University of Calgary, and colleagues, said in a journal news release that”Canadian companies indicate they have been working to reduce sodium but the high sodium in these foods indicates voluntary efforts aren’t working.

These high levels indicate failure of the current government approach that leaves salt reduction solely in the hands of industry,” the researchers reported. “Salt-reduction programs need to guide industry and oversee it with targets and timelines for foods, monitoring and evaluation, and stronger regulatory measures if the structured voluntary efforts are not effective.”

The researchers concluded,”Decreasing salt in fast foods would appear to be technically feasible, and is likely to produce important gains in population health — the average salt levels of fast foods are high, and these foods are eaten often.”

SOURCE: Canadian Medical Association Journal, news release, April 11, 2012