Food served in many restaurants and cafeterias in the United States tends to be high in fat, cholesterol, salt, and added sugar. Some changes are being made as chefs realize that consumers want and enjoy nutritious meals, but this shift is only begin¬ning.

Until it becomes more widespread, there are some things you can do to protect your health while enjoying a meal out.

The first thing you should know is that most chefs are eager to please the customer. The restaurant business is very competitive, and regular customers can make the difference between a restaurant's success or failure. An accommodating chef will often prepare dishes to order for you. If the fish listed on the menu is sauted in butter, ask to have yours broiled with a little lemon.

Sometimes your request can be as simple as putting sauces or dressings on the side.

Most restaurants will also give you smaller servings if you request them. In many Chinese restaurants, each dish is prepared fresh, so you can ask that yours be prepared with only a small amount of salt.

In many cases, though, you can get a nutritious meal simply by choosing wisely from the menu. Some menus have special "healthy heart" selections—these are prepared to keep fat and salt content low. The so-called "diet plates," however, are no nutritional bargain. Usually, they consist of a ham¬burger minus the bun or mayonnaise-heavy tuna salad on a piece of lettuce—meals with very little carbohydrate but plenty of fat and protein.

Look for foods that are baked, grilled, or broiled with lemon juice or wine instead of butter. Dishes prepared by steaming, roasting, or poaching also tend to be low in fat. By the same token, limit or avoid foods that are au gratin, buttered, creamy, marinated in oil, or fried. Cream. Sauce hollandaise, béchamel, cheese, and butter sauces are all fat heavy.

Some chefs, influenced by French nouvelle cuisine, are using lighter sauces, but often these are lighter only because they do not use flour—they still use cream and butter. Also, watch out for smoked and pickled foods, or those served au jus, for they are likely to be salty.

Italian restaurants tend to be good choices for those in search of low-fat food. Eat only small portions of cheese- and meat-stuffed dishes, such as lasagna, ravioli, and manicotti, or split a stuffed dish with someone who orders pasta with red clam sauce.

Marinara and marsala sauces are also low in fat. Chicken and fish cooked Italian style are often simply pre¬pared using wine and herbs and thus are good selections.

Asian cuisines are usually low in fat and cholesterol because they rely heavily on vegetables and stir-frying. But be careful of fried appetizers like wontons and egg rolls, and dishes cooked in coconut milk. Szechuan dishes sometimes involve frying meat in hot oil. Remember, moderation is the key with foods such as these.

Pancakes are a good choice for a restaurant breakfast, but ask to have the butter served on the side, and leave most of it there.

Order your toast, English muffin, or bagel plain, and use jam on it instead of butter: you get some added sugar, but no extra fat or cholesterol. Also, if you have an occasional egg, order it poached or soft-boiled instead of fried.

An increasing number of restaurants and cafeterias now offer salad bars with a wide range of selections. A well-stocked salad bar can provide a nutritious, low-fat meal if you choose vegetables, fruit, garbanzo beans, or flaked tuna or chicken.

Cottage cheese, hard cheese, pasta salad, potato salad, guacamole, diced ham, and olives are okay, but only in small amounts; the ham and olives are salty, and the rest of these items are high in fat. Use little, if any, bacon bits, chopped eggs, pickled foods, and regular salad dressings.  If you want dressing, choose a low-calorie selection or use lemon and a sprinkling of pepper with perhaps a bit of oil.

Fast food is often rich in fat, cholesterol, and salt, but this situation is changing. Fast-food restaurant chains have discovered that improving the nutritional value of their prod¬ucts is good for sales. When you eat at one of these chains, choose a plain hamburger (instead of a larger one topped with a sauce), a roast beef sandwich, a skinless grilled or baked chicken sandwich, a pizza without meat, or a baked potato with low-fat toppings.

Select prepared vegetable salads or items from the salad bar if one is available, and use only a small amount of low-calorie dressing. And choose skim or 1 per¬cent milk, fruit juice, water, a small soda, or a low-fat milkshake to drink.

Some fast-food chains now publish nutritional infor¬mation for their fare. Request it, and pick those items that make a positive contribution to your eating plan.

Every day, millions of children and adults in the United States eat lunch in a cafeteria. Unfortunately, some of the food served in these cafeterias is far from ideal from a health standpoint.

But you can do something about it—give the food service director at your firm a copy of this book. And talk to your school principal about the food served in your child's cafeteria. Schools are places of learning, so why not educate them about the benefits of a healthful diet?