Eating well need not be a struggle.

The American Dietetic Association's 1997 Nutrition Trends Survey revealed that Americans' major perceived barriers to achieving a healthful eating style are the fear of giving up foods (40%), confusion or frustration over nutrition studies and reports (23%), and the belief that eating well takes too much time (21%). "Taste, confusion, and time have been viewed as the biggest obstacles to a healthy eating plan Tar many years, notes Bettye Nowlin, a registered dietitian and Los Angeles community nutrition educator. "But the tried and true, commonsense messages about eating well have remained constant for years as well. Bridging the two together may be easier than many Americans think."

In all four of ADA's biennial trends surveys, the fear of having to give up foods has been cited as the largest perceived barrier keeping people from doing all they can to eat well. This barrier, according to Nowlin, may stem from the finding that 72% of Americans believe there are "good" and "bad" foods. "As nutrition educators, we face an uphill battle to get people to look at the big picture of their total food intake. Aside from medical reasons or one's own personal taste preferences, individual foods shouldn't be tagged as good or bad. We eat foods for individual reasons of culture, upbringing, religion, and taste preferences."

Small changes in food selaction, preparation, and serving sizes can prove to be solutions to breaking the fear or guilt associated with certain foods. Modifying recipes, eating an item less often or in smaller portions, as well as exploring the abundance of foods available can add up to positive changes in over-all nutrition without sacrificing taste. "You can have your cake and eat it too--just not the whole cake and not every day," Nowlin points out.

While 51% of Americans like to hear about new nutrition studies (up from 43% in 1995), 23% say confusion or frustration over conflicting reports is a major barrier preventing them from doing all they can to eat well. "We may be suffering from a bit of information overload. It's important to remember that nutrition is a science that evolves slowly. So, drawing conclusions or changing eating habits based on one or two studies...