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Go, Slow, Whoa: Easy Way to Choose Healthy Foods
Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County
The Truth Contributor
The image of a traffic light with green, yellow and red is
sometimes used to categorize food to help remind us of
making healthy choices. The following words are often used
to describe the three groups of food: Go, Slow, Whoa! Go,
Slow, Whoa, is used as an educational model to teach about
food choices as well as a prompt at the time of food
decisions to encourage healthy choices. It is designed to be
easy to understand and practical to use.
Do you think this is just an educational model for grade
school children? Think again! Not only can it be used to
teach a detailed nutrition subject to children, it is also
used as an easy way to remind adults about their daily food
decisions.
For example, sometimes a traffic light image or colors are
used on vending machines to highlight the foods to eat more
often and warn about the foods to eat less often. A research
study about adults and food decisions used the traffic-light
label and a list of calories with workers who ordered food
lunches to see if having the information would influence
their choices.
Although more research is needed on a variety of food-choice
topics, this study found that the traffic-light labels were
useful to adults for making healthy choices about their
on-line lunch orders.
What do the three groupings of food mean? There is no
specific definition for the three categories of food but
there are general explanations for the Go, Slow, Whoa model.
In a similar way, there is no single definition for
“processed” foods but there is the generalization that fewer
processed foods are most often healthier options and more
processed foods are often much higher in sodium, fat and/or
calories.
Minimally processed foods include canned and frozen foods so
they can certainly fit into a healthy diet. For example,
frozen broccoli is a “Go” food even though it is not fresh
and it is considered minimally processed. On the
other hand, a can of broccoli cheese soup is considered more
processed and it would be much higher in fat and sodium
compared to the frozen broccoli.
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Go
Foods, the green light are foods that are lowest in fat,
added sugar, calories and are the least processed foods. You
can eat “go” foods almost anytime. There are many options of
“go” foods and it’s important to make those choices within
all five of the MyPlate food groups: vegetables, fruits,
grains, dairy and protein.
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Slow
Foods, the yellow caution light are foods that are higher in
fat, added sugar and/or calories compared to Go foods. These
foods are often more processed than Go foods so eat “slow”
foods less often and when eating them, choose a smaller
portion size.
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Whoa
Foods, the red stoplight are foods that are very high in
fat, added sugar and/or calories, often described as “empty
calories.” Whoa foods are the most processed foods and have
very limited healthy nutrients. Only eat “whoa” foods once
in a great while.
Vegetables:
As mentioned above, Go
foods include frozen, fresh and canned vegetables. Make sure
you go Slow on added butters, oils, sauces and salt. Also,
limit fried vegetables. For example, Go with a baked potato
topped with broccoli and a little bit of cheese and remember
that fried potatoes (or French fries) fall under Whoa. If
you’re ordering out and choose the French fries, go Slow by
ordering the smallest size.
Fruits:
Go for fresh, frozen,
canned and dried fruit. Go slower with 100 percent fruit
juice – juice doesn’t offer fiber like the whole fruits.
Also go slow on added sugar or syrup (often found in canned
fruits). Whoa fruit examples would often be desserts with
fruit as an ingredient but a lot of added fat and sugars.
For example, fresh apple slices or strawberries are Go and a
slice of apple pie or strawberry jam is considered Whoa.
Grains:
Go for whole grains like
whole-grain breads, brown rice and 100 percent whole grain
cereals! Slow are some processed foods with refined grains
and added sugar and/or salt. Whoa foods are often dessert
foods with refined flour and a lot of added sugar and fat
like donuts, cakes and cookies.
Dairy: Go foods are lower in
fat, like a glass of low-fat milk. Slow foods would be foods
like cheese and yogurt – they offer calcium but check for
fat content and added sugars to yogurt – keep it a Slow food
by choosing the right portion size. Whoa foods include ice
cream or milkshakes.
Protein:
Go with lean or low-fat
meat, poultry and seafood and plant proteins like dried
beans and peas (pulses) or nuts and seeds. Go meats are also
prepared in the following ways: grilled, broiled, roasted or
baked. Slow down on fried meats and serving sizes.
Restaurants tend to serve very large portions of meat –
sometimes more protein than we need in one day. Keep this in
mind when judging Go, Slow or Whoa for protein foods.
Beverages:
Water first for thirst is
the ultimate Go beverage. Slow includes 100 percent fruit
juice – watch the portion size. Many beverages offer limited
nutrients and many extra calories so they would be Whoa
drinks. A few examples of Whoa beverages include soda pop,
sweetened teas, fruit-flavored drinks or punch and gourmet
flavored coffee drinks with added ingredients.
Interested in learning more about local foods? Join OSU
Extension for “Introduction to Local Foods” at Waterville
Branch Library on Monday July 25th, 2016 at 6:30
pm. For more information, contact Patrice at 419-213-2022 or
powers-barker.1@osu.edu.
Resources: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,
hellawella.com and Kansas State Extension.
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