IT's Healthy

As we've said before, IT is all about healthy eating. We've also recently spent a lot of time in airports and planes (more on that next week), so we're thrilled about a couple of new studies on healthy eating for air travelers.

Two weeks ago the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (described by the Washington Post as "a medical group that advocates for vegetarianism") released its annual Airport Food Report, surveying 13 major U.S. airports. The report bases airports' scores on the percentage of their restaurants serving "at least one vegetarian entrée that is low in fat, high in fiber, and cholesterol-free." Overall there was a 13-percent improvement over last year, with all but one of the previously surveyed airports showing a higher score (last year's number-one Chicago O'Hare went down a point). Top-rated was Orlando, with a score of 97 (up from its eighth-place 76 last year), and described by PCRM as offering "a bounty of healthy choices."

Other top scorers are Detroit, San Francisco, Newark, and Dallas/Fort Worth. The report's "most improved airport" award goes to Houston, which upped its 2005 score of 46 by 30 points. Despite a 27-point improvement, Las Vegas remains in last place for the third year in a row (with a score of 69).

None of this matters, though, if you're prone to arrive late at airports (like Jessie) or often find yourself with a boarding pass marked SSSS (Jessie again), and therefore don't have time to chow down before you take off. In that case, you'll want to check out last week's Airline Snack Food Investigation on DietDetective.com. Nutritionist Charles Platkin looked at the snacks dished out on six major airlines, and assigned each a rating of one (lowest) to five (highest) stars. Each airline's assessment includes its score (with a quick explanation), the healthiest option available, and the total calories, cost, and contents of the snack packages offered. United topped the list with five stars, and Continental and JetBlue tied for second with four stars each. Coming in last is Delta, whose "tasty delights" are dismissed by Platkin—"You'll be very hungry after eating Delta's entire snack pack"—and IT's very own frequent flier, Emily: "The parmesan peppercorn cheese spread tastes good until you finish it," she says, "at which point you feel sick and hungry."