EATING RIGHT MEANS LOW-FAT COOKING

Joyce Miller wasn't thinking about dinner when she hiked Japan's Mount Fuji this summer.

She could have made it to the top -- conquering a six-hour walk across five miles of mostly lava rock -- even without a nutritious breakfast.

However, she has no doubt that an overall healthy diet and lifestyle helped her get there.

"For a number of years, we've been watching the fat content as well as cholesterol in the foods we eat," she said.

But for Joyce Miller, who works in marketing and communications at Southeast Missouri Hospital, and Tom Miller, a physical education teacher at Schultz School, it isn't a life of desperately measuring and counting calories.

On the contrary, Joyce Miller explained with a chuckle, "I'm into the very easy cooking style."

In the Millers' kitchen, the emphasis is on a healthy diet rather than diet through elimination of favorite foods. It is a lifestyle the Millers' children, Kara and Matt, have also embraced.

Joyce Miller said, "I'm not eliminating fats, sweets, salt. I'm saying, 'Let's work on this with moderation.' If fat can be eliminated and I can still have what my family likes, why not?"

Many experts agree that it is just that sort of outlook that is more likely to meet with long-term success regardless if the goal is weight loss, cholesterol control or simply being healthier.

"I encourage people to find lower-fat ways to eat the same kinds of foods they've been eating all along," said Janet Kline, nutrition and health specialist with the Benton office of the University of Missouri Extension Service.

The first step, she said, is to identify the fat content of food.

"You can do that by reading labels, by looking at ingredients," she said. New food labeling requirements can help.

While Tom Miller's cholesterol numbers prompted the Miller family to get serious about eating healthier, a diet that limits fat intake is thought to be best for most people.

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found only in animal products. The average, healthy adult should eat no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol a day.

Dietary fat is divided into two types: saturated fat and unsaturated fat. Saturated fat remains solid at room temperature. Saturated fats are known to contribute to higher levels of damaging cholesterol, heart disease and many types of cancer.

Many national health organizations recommend that less than 30 percent of a person's total daily caloric intake should come from fats, noted Anita Newcomer Smith, clinical dietitian with Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Dietary fat contains 9 calories per gram. To find out how many calories of fat a given serving contains, multiply the number of grams by nine.

Good eating habits aren't only important for an adult's general good health and fitness, Smith said, but it is equally important for children.

"We shouldn't be preparing one type of food for kids and one type for adults," she said.

Children older than 2 can eat what the family eats, if they eat healthy, she added. Children younger than 2 typically need the caloric density provided by some higher fat food products.

After becoming better acquainted with the fat and cholesterol content of food, the next step may be modifying preparation habits.

The good news is that modification can be accomplished in many areas, and it doesn't require running out and buying a whole new set of cookbooks.

"You can use old recipes, with modifications in ingredients and cooking methods," Kline said.

"Begin to redirect your thinking when you cook," Smith said, adding: "don't always think automatically of frying, of preparing heavy sauces."

Joyce Miller has cut back on her family's fat intake in a variety of ways. Low-fat and no-fat substitutes, the method of food preparation and portion size can all play important roles in achieving a tasty diet that is low in fat, she said.

Large, one-dish meals can be particularly satisfying for all members of the family, she added.

"I try to make at least one stir-fry dish a week," she said. "You can use chicken or beef or ham or whatever, but only use a small amount. Mix with vegetables and put it over rice and you've got a healthy meal and also managed to cut down on the fat. It's the same with a pasta dish."

Kline said not all food substitutes will meet with family-wide approval.

"People have to realize a recipe is a chemical formula," she said. "Some of the modifications you make will be really successful. Some, however, make food taste or look a little different. You have to decide whether or not that's one of the changes you want to make."

Information on low-fat, low-cholesterol cooking is available from many sources, including area hospital outreach centers and university extension offices.

While some health concerns may require strict adherence to specific diets, most people can acquire healthier dietary habits if the desire is there.

A key to success, Joyce Miller said, is "not to deny yourself, but to use products that are low in fat, but are still the things you want."

She added, "I eat to live, I don't live to eat." But she wants the food to be the right stuff.

Tips for healthy cooking from "Altering Recipes," a publication available through the University of Missouri Extension Service.

-- Reduced fat sour cream, low-fat or non-fat yogurt, or cottage cheese can replace regular sour cream in sauces and dips.

-- Skim milk can be used instead of whole milk in most recipes.

-- Evaporated milk can be substituted for whipping cream.

-- When using a regular -- not lite or microwave -- brownie or cake mix, you can substitute 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt for the two eggs and 1/2 cup oil.