Q: Is tilapia one of the fish high in omega-3 fat?
A: No. Tilapia has only about one gram of fat altogether in a serving, unless you add more fat when cooking. Consequently, the amount of omega-3 fat in tilapia is much less than the amount in fatty fish like salmon, Atlantic mackerel, sea bass, rainbow trout, albacore tuna, herring and sardines. However, tilapia is still a good meal choice. It?s a sweet, mild fish that is great for people who don?t like a fishy taste. It?s also wonderful when you want to use a flavorful sauce or seasoning that the fish won?t compete with. You don?t have to look for fish with high amounts of omega-3 fat, if you want to eat better. Simply having any kind of fish twice a week has been linked with health benefits.

Q: After severely overweight people have surgery to lose weight, do they automatically eat less, or do they have to learn new eating habits?
A: A person has to learn new eating habits after weight-loss surgery, and many people underestimate the difficulty involved. During the weight-loss phase immediately after surgery, people are often advised to eat about five meals a day, each less than a half-cup, along with protein supplements. After this phase, for long-term maintenance, a person?s meal size still remains under a cup. However, people can?t simply reduce the portion size of foods they?re used to eating. Because of changes in the digestive tract, people need to learn to chew their food far more finely than most of us do. Liquids need to be consumed separately from solid foods. ?Eating on the run? can become a real problem, if people did that before. People can also develop an intolerance to tough meat, soft bread, certain vegetables, skins of fruits, high-fat foods, carbonated beverages, or high-sugar foods. Although you might think it?s easier to avoid foods if you can?t tolerate eating them, emotion often plays a major role in people?s food choices. Experts say that people who use food to cope with stress or emotion may do the same thing after weight-loss surgery. These people may also need extended help learning new ways to deal with family situations and personality traits that promote overeating. They may also need to acquire greater awareness of physical and emotional cues that prompt them to start eating when they aren?t hungry. Consequently, a skilled team including a therapist and registered dietitian is strongly advised for both a person?s safety and a successful outcome after this kind of surgery.

Q: Does ice cream count as a serving of dairy for supplying calcium?
A: Since ice cream is a dairy product, it does contain some calcium, but it also supplies a hefty dose of sugar and fat. Each cup of regular ice cream ? not the extra-rich gourmet brands ? has 150 to 175 milligrams (mg) of calcium. Along with that amount of calcium, you will get about 270 calories and 14 grams of fat. If you eat enough ice cream to get the 300 mg of calcium found in one cup of skim milk, you would consume six times the amount of calories that the skim milk has and more than 28 grams of fat. By choosing reduced-fat or no-added-sugar ice cream, you can lower the calorie content somewhat of the ice cream, but it is still far greater than the amount in milk. You should find other sources of calcium and consider ice cream an optional food for ?discretionary calories.? These are foods that you eat in small amounts, savoring their taste, once you have met your nutritional needs with a balanced diet.

Reprinted with permission from the American Institute for Cancer Research