By Karen Collins, R.D.

Q: Pizza and burritos are my family's favorite meals, but I know they're not balanced. What can I do?

A: You can use these foods to make a balanced meal. The basic idea of balanced, plant-based meals like those recommended by the American Institute for Cancer Research is to include protein, starchy complex carbohydrates, and fruits and/or vegetables in every meal.

The largest parts of the meal should be the grains, fruits and vegetables. In pizza, whole-wheat crust is now increasingly available for a healthful source of complex carbohydrate grain, and cheese supplies the protein.

Vegetable toppings - peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach - provide good nutrition and taste.

Realistically though, you'd have to eat a lot of pizza to get a substantial serving of vegetables. Try serving the pizza with salad or raw vegetables on the side or offer fruit for dessert.

If you don't overdo the amount of pizza, people will be more likely to add in these other choices.

Burritos also make it easy to get the grain - in this case, the tortilla - and protein, such as beans, cheese, a little chicken or meat if you want.

Once again, the problem is that it's hard to load enough lettuce, tomatoes and other veggies into just one or two burritos.

So cut back on the meat, chicken and cheese to make room for fresh vegetables and enjoy some fruit for dessert.

Q: Is it best to avoid drinking water during exercise if you want to lose weight?

A: No. If you work out for 30 minutes or more and don't drink any water, your weight will probably be down immediately afterward. But this lower weight is only a reflection of water loss from dehydration and the weight loss is only temporary.

It is exercising a little longer and harder that will help you lose more body fat.

Studies clearly show that people who drink fluid before exercise - and during exercise, if it is longer than 20-30 minutes - can perform faster, harder and longer than exercisers who do not drink fluid.

Fuel yourself with a snack or meal two to three hours before exercise, and drink plenty of fluid. In most cases water is the preferred beverage choice if you are trying to lose weight, unless you are exercising for an extended period of time. 

For intense exercise lasting over an hour or intense stop-start sports, sports drinks that provide small amounts of carbohydrate can improve performance. 

Q: Does grapefruit juice boost metabolism?

A: Grapefruit juice is very nutritious, but no solid research shows it has any impact on how fast we burn calories.

Each six-ounce glass of grapefruit juice provides lots of potassium and about three-fourths of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C. It also contains natural compounds that help protect our DNA from damage that can lead to cancer - all for only 70 to 75 calories.

However, no evidence shows that grapefruit juice can make weight loss easier. Drinking large amounts of any juice is usually not a good weight-loss strategy because juice calories add up quickly and juices typically do not satisfy hunger for very long.

A better strategy is to boost solid fruit and vegetable consumption to five to 10 servings a day. These foods are generally low in calories and their bulk helps satisfy hunger.

Karen Collins is a nationally known registered dietitian and nutritionist whose work appears on websites, such as Nubella News and MSNBC.com, and in newspapers throughout the country. She is nutrition adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research
Reference: NutritionWise

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