MYTH #1: IT'S JUST A SALAD!
There's nothing "just" about the 490 calories and 41 grams of fat in a Subway BMT salad with ranch dressing. That adds up to even more calories and fat than a Burger King Bacon Cheeseburger (360 calories, 18 grams of fat). At Ruby Tuesday, the Carolina Chicken Salad packs -- brace yourself -- 1,300 calories and 72 grams of fat (275 fewer without dressing). Consult a calorie counter to figure out how many calories you are consuming in your favorite salads.
MYTH #2: FAT-FREE DRESSING IS HEALTHIEST.
Not quite. You do save on calories when you take out the fat, but many such dressings are loaded with sugar -- more than two teaspoons per serving -- and offer zero nutrition. Plus, they block your ability to absorb the carotenoid antioxidants in salad greens and tomatoes -- important compounds that reduce the risk of heart disease. In one study, people eating full-fat salad dressing absorbed twice the nutrients of those using reduced-fat dressing. Fat-free dressing allowed for virtually no absorption of these good guys.
MYTH #3: CELERY HAS NEGATIVE CALORIES, SO IT WILL COMPENSATE FOR THE EXTRA CHEESE!
At six calories per stalk, celery is unquestionably a weight-friendly food. Alas, the body doesn't expend more calories than that to chew and digest it, according to David Baer, Ph.D., a research physiologist at the USDA Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland. "No negative-calorie foods have been discovered yet," he says.
MYTH #4: LETTUCE IS LETTUCE.
Not when it comes to nutrition (or flavor): Arugula and watercress are superstars, loaded with cancer-fighting compounds. In fact, a chemical in watercress has been shown to deactivate one of the cancer-causing toxins in tobacco smoke. Spinach is another hero because of its cache of lutein, thought to protect against cancer and blindness. And baby versions of kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens are less sharp, tough, and bitter than the grown-ups but are outfitted with the same cancer-fighters. Dark-leaf, mild-tasting greens, including romaine, red-leaf lettuce, and many mesclun mixes, don't have a wealth of phytonutrients but have respectable levels of beta-carotene. Light greens, like iceberg and endive, are pretty much nutrition duds.
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