I received a large package today from a company with whom we have done business this year. As the box had pictures of citrus fruit , I eagerly anticipated a bounty of oranges and grapefruit to perk up the winter’s meager fruit supply. Much to my disappointment, the many boxes inside the larger container held an assortment of cocktail foods: nuts, cheese, fancy chocolates, buttery crackers, salami and  a square of baklava.

As I sorted through these and tried to figure out to whom I could pass on these treats ( the students at the university who will eat anything had already left for the semester), I glanced at the nutritional information on the packaging of these foods. The small piece of baklava caught my attention. The calorie count was 190 and 100 of the calories came from fat. “That’s strange,” I said to myself, “ I would have thought it contained even more calories.” And then I looked more closely at the food label. The l90 calories were for one serving and this pastry which could be consumed in about three bites represented THREE SERVINGS. Curious now, I examined the other food items and found that they all shared in having an extremely high calorie count. Useful if one is going to go into hibernation right after the holidays but since I did not plan  on sleeping in a cave until April, rather lethal calorically.

I realized that companies would not send out gifts of carrot sticks and bottled water to prevent excess weight gain among their customers. But why this unthinking selection of foods which by just about all standards are going to threaten our weight to say nothing of our cholesterol count.

There has been a movement this holiday season to be more environmentally conscious and where possible,’ give green’. What about making the next holiday season one in which we not assaulted, in the name of holiday cheer, with foods that may do as much damage to our internal environment as smokestacks are doing to the ozone. I think even Scrooge would approve.  

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written by Beth Cooper Tabakin, Ph.D., December 30, 2007

Helpful, live giving insights! How do families and friends justify calling unhealthy products 'treats'? Help me understand the reasoning. Dr. Wurtman, thank you for your wonderful research, it has influenced my life since the 80's.
Beth