April 30--If you've ever felt woozy in a grocery store, standing in front of the Great Wall of Cereal, endeavoring to discern one box of clusters and flakes from the next, Allison Parker might be able to help.
Parker works as a dietitian in 18 of the 36 Mariano's stores in the Chicago area. A registered dietitian for more than 10 years, Parker says she's still learning how to be effective in a grocery store setting. She empathizes with overwhelmed shoppers struggling to parse truth from marketing smoke and mirrors.
Here's what Parker had to say about helping shoppers. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What are the pros and cons to being a retail dietitian as opposed to working in a health care setting?
A: It is like unchartered territory. It's such a new area for dietitians to work in and it's an exciting area, but it can also be very scary because there's no one to really go to and ask, How did you do this? And how did you have success? It's been fun, but also scary at times.
Q: These are such confusing times to be a shopper. ... Some labels are more meaningful than others. What does "natural" mean?
A: It doesn't mean anything, really.
Q: How do you navigate all of the labeling to help consumers make decisions?
A: My philosophy is always just really encouraging the perimeter (of the store), the foods that don't even have labels, because they're going to be healthiest, usually. And helping (customers) to really start looking at labels, which they may not have done before, and really read ingredient lists. Can I pronounce all those items that are in this food? And if not, maybe making them think twice about purchasing that item or finding a better option.
I always focus on cereal, bread and yogurt because five, 10 years ago, we didn't have this many choices. And I find those to be the most overwhelming sections of the store. Most people know they have to eat more produce, but once they get in the cereal aisle, it's like: Why is there is so much?
Q: And that overwhelming selection has to do with how companies are marketing?
A: Yeah, for sure. ... Pick the box up and actually look it. Look past what the marketers are trying to do.
Q: How do you handle dieting trends like the paleo diet?
A: In March, I did a cooking seminar on all the fad diets. We talked about all the big ones in the news right now: detoxing, cleansing, juicing, paleo, Whole 30, one called the werewolf diet -- that one was new to me. All of these have one thing in common: They're promoting or promising something huge and they're not necessarily delivering over time. ... My goal is try to help (customers) navigate through the science.
Q: But sometimes the science changes, right?
A: Exactly. Fat right now is a big one. I'm still on the fence. I still recommend 1 percent or skim milk. But now there's stuff coming out saying we don't have to worry so much about the type of fat in milk. So it's always changing. That's why I like nutrition. It's a young science. We didn't even know half the vitamins and minerals back 40 or 50 years ago and now we do. I like it, but it's also frustrating. Because one day eggs are good and the next day they're not.
Q: And "good fat" is making a comeback, right? As opposed to "bad fat." How do you treat that?
A: It's so cliche, but everything in moderation. I just feel like as long as you're not overdoing it in any one section of the store or any one food group, and eating things don't have a lot of ingredients, focusing on fruits and ingredients. ... I think that's where people struggle the most. My classes are very fruit and vegetable heavy.
Q: Do you feel like you're constantly battling the marketing?
A: Yep, I have a bag of Tostitos at home that came in a nice, pretty box last week. ... They're not bad, but it's hard for me to be like, "Let's push Frito-Lay today!"
But I do come from the everything-can-fit-as-long-as-you're-not-overdoing-it standpoint.
gtrotter@tribpub.com
