By Karen Collins, RD

Q: How do panini rate nutritionally?

A: Panini are grilled, pressed sandwiches made from a small loaf of bread. As with most foods, nutritional quality varies with how panini are made. The panini at most restaurants tend to be high in calories and fat.

Some panini with particularly low-fat ingredients may contain about 450 calories and 12 grams of fat, but many versions range from 575 to 925 calories, with much of that coming from 26 to 53 grams of fat.

The top end of that range is over three-quarters of the recommended total day's worth of fat for a person who eats 2,000 calories a day.

The high fat content comes from oil used for cooking, and a combination of high-fat cheese and perhaps a high-fat meat or flavoring such as pesto.

You can make a healthful panini by:

•  using whole-grain bread and reduced-fat cheese or poultry;

•   limiting fat in cooking;

•  adding flavor from roasted vegetables or fresh herbs.

Q: Are mushrooms a good source of any nutrients?

A: Mushrooms provide a variety of nutrients with few calories. A half-cup of mushroom pieces contains just nine calories when raw or 21 calories when cooked without added fat.

Mushrooms are a good source of the mineral selenium, which may protects against cancer as an antioxidant and by promoting DNA repair. Mushrooms also contain other compounds that act as antioxidants and may lead to the lowering of estrogen levels in post-menopausal women.

High estrogen levels are linked with increased risk of breast cancer.

Much of the research on the healthful effects of mushrooms is still in preliminary stages, but researchers suggest it holds promise.

Many people trying to cut back on meat portions find that mushrooms in casseroles, stews and chilies add satisfying flavor and texture.

Q: Why was the old Food Guide Pyramid with different levels of food consumption replaced?

A: The current federal food pyramid, called MyPyramid, was created to reflect the latest U.S. dietary guidelines and address confusion over the "old" 1992 Food Guide Pyramid.

The 1992 pyramid showed that food groups are needed in different proportions. The revised pyramid is intended to clarify that within each food group, some specific foods should be included more abundantly than others.

In MyPyramid, each food group stripe is itself a pyramid. The wide section of the colored bands illustrates that it is best to eat more of some foods than others.

Accompanying materials clarify that:

•  whole grains are important selections from the grain group;

•  variety is important among vegetable selections;

•  meat and dairy products should be lean;

•  preferred choices from all groups are foods low in sugar, salt and saturated and trans fats.

Unfortunately, some feedback suggests that people do not understand this message from the graphic design.

The current pyramid omits the former listing of recommended "servings" to convey the need for individual identification of optimal portions.

A serving is a standard for comparison; a portion refers to how much you eat at a time. For example, the recommendation for at least five servings of vegetables from the former pyramid corresponds to two-and-a-half cups of vegetables, but might be consumed in two or three hearty portions.

Finally, the addition of a person climbing up the pyramid emphasizes the importance of daily physical activity.

Karen Collins is a nationally known dietitian whose work appears on Nubella News, MSNBC.com and other outlets. She is nutrition advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Source: American Institute for Cancer Research
Reference: NutritionWise

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