Mayo Clinic's Guide to Healthy Ethnic Cuisine

These suggestions will help you savor the exotic, while keeping calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium under control.

Chinese

Look for: Stir-fried (ask to have it prepared in little or no oil) or steamed dishes with lots of vegetables, steamed rice, poached fish, and hot and sour soups.

Avoid: Fatty spareribs, fried wontons, egg rolls, shrimp toast and fried rice. To limit sodium, ask that your food be prepared without salt or monosodium glutamate (MSG). Request soy sauce (high in sodium) and other sauces on the side.

French

Look for: Steamed shellfish, roasted poultry, salad with dressing on the side, and sauces with a wine or tomato base, such as bordelaise or a la Provencal.

Avoid: French onion soup (high in sodium; high in fat if it has cheese), high-fat sauces (bechamel, hollandaise and bearnaise), croissants and pate.

Greek

Look for: Plaki (fish cooked with tomatoes, onions and garlic), chicken kebabs (chicken broiled on a spit with tomatoes, onion and peppers), or a Greek salad.

Avoid: Dishes with large amounts of butter or oil, such as baba ghanouj (eggplant appetizer) and baklava (dessert made with phyllo dough, butter, nuts and honey). To limit sodium, avoid olives, anchovies and feta cheese.

Italian

Look for: Marinara (tomatoes with garlic and onions), Marsala (based in wine), clam sauce and pasta primavera with fresh vegetables and a small amount of oil. Simply prepared fish and chicken dishes also are good choices.

Avoid: Pasta stuffed with cheese or fatty meat and dishes with cream or butter sauces. Veal scaloppine and parmigiana (cooked with Parmesan cheese) contain added fat.

Japanese

Look for: Steamed rice, soba or udon noodles, yakisoba (stir-fried noodles), yakitori (chicken teriyaki), shumai (steamed dumplings), tofu, sukiyaki, kayaku gohan (vegetables and rice).

Avoid: Shrimp or vegetable tempura, chicken katsu, tonkatsu (fried pork), shrimp agemono, fried tofu (bean curd).

Mexican

Look for: Grilled fish, shrimp and chicken with salsa made of tomato, chilies and onion. Order corn tortillas (they're lower in fat and calories than are flour tortillas) as long as they aren't deep fried. For a side dish, order rice or beans (black, pinto, refried). Make sure your side dishes aren't cooked with fat or lard -- ask your server about this.

Avoid: Dishes with large amounts of cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. Chips also can add a lot of fat and calories.

Reprinted from The Mayo Clinic Diet, copyright 2010 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Good Books (www.GoodBooks.com). Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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About Donald Hensrud, M.D.
Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H., is chair of the Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine and a consultant in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He is also an associate professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. A specialist in nutrition and weight management, Dr. Hensrud advises individuals on how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. He conducts research in weight management, and he writes and lectures widely on nutrition-related topics. He helped publish two award-winning Mayo Clinic cookbooks.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy that the needs of the patient come first. Over 3,600 physicians and scientists and 50,000 allied staff work at Mayo, which has sites in Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, Mayo Clinic treats more than 500,000 patients a year.

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