To the Editor:
Re “How Salad Can Make Us Fat,” by Alex Hutchinson (Sunday Review, Oct. 25):
A number of studies have appeared recently highlighting the unintended consequences of making “healthy” food choices—for example, buying a bunch of kale in the supermarket or ordering a salad side at a restaurant—and then rewarding one’s self with “unhealthy” food choices. So what is the message? Shifting one’s buying and ordering pattern to healthier options is deleterious to our health.
In long-term studies, the overwhelming evidence indicates that people who report dietary patterns higher in fruits and vegetables, presumably classified as “healthy” food choices, have better health outcomes vis-à-vis heart disease and cancer. What is causing the discrepancy? Probably differences in short-term versus long-term behaviors.
It would be unfortunate if the bottom line were interpreted to mean that ordering a salad makes us choose a triple burger with bacon and cheese. Maybe a few forays into “less healthy” food options will satiate one’s appetite and in the long term improve dietary patterns.
ALICE H. LICHTENSTEIN
Boston
The writer is a professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University.
