Hippocrates once stated, “Let your food be your medicine.” The Father of Modern Medicine was way ahead of his time, but his statement still rings true. If you eat healthy, you'll likely be healthy.

Hippocrates would have balked at burgers and waved goodbye to french fries and instead opted for fresh fruits, vegetables and meats seasoned with herbs and spices. However, healthy dining in the 21st century can be a challenging experience. It's easier and faster to visit a drive-thru than it is to sit down for a tasty and healthy meal. And even if you do take the time, how do you know which menu items are really healthy?   

Fortunately, restaurants are aware of America's trend toward fitness and have responded by making more healthy dining options available on their menus. “People are trying to eat healthier, so restaurants see healthy dining as an important part of their business,” says Susan Goldstein, the Orange County regional director for the book “Healthy Dining in Orange County,” a guide to health-conscious cuisine which lists healthy menu items from dozens of local restaurants.

“Restaurants have been challenged to offer healthy dining options, and they have risen to that challenge and come up with flavor-ful, healthy, beautiful-looking dishes,” says Goldstein, who adds that it's easy to order something that seems healthy but really isn't. “Every restaurant prepares its dishes differently using different recipes, different quantities and different presentations,” she says. “Two restaurants may have similar dishes, but they could be very different in their nutrition content and portion size.”

Health Food

Many restaurants serve what is known as health food - a sometimes bland “good-for-you” meal that sounds unappetizing.

“One of the reasons that most health food tastes terrible is that most of the things labeled ‘health food’ do indeed taste terrible, and restaurants have to take responsibility for that,” says Seth Siegel, owner of The Health Emporium in Corona del Mar, a natural food store that also includes a full-service café. “Taste is the most important element. If it tastes terrible, you're not going to want to eat it. It also has to look good and smell pleasant.”

The Health Emporium uses and sells only organic produce (grown without the use of conventional pesticides or artificial fertilizer, and processed without additives) and meats (reared without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics). Organic foods have been growing in popularity, probably because once consumers taste the burst of flavor emanating from organic products, it's hard to go back to conventional food products.

Organic products have other health benefits. For example, Siegel says that organic eggs have about half the cholesterol of regular eggs, while organic milk is better for you because it comes from steroid-free cows.

And what about terms like “free-range chicken,” which often appear on restaurant menus?

“That can be a confusing term,” says Siegel. “Free range means the chickens are not always in cages, but it can mean there is a door to the cage and the chickens have access to a 10-foot sidewalk. A more important question to ask would be is the chicken antibody- and hormone-free?”

Bottom line, says Siegel: “You want to eat food that gives you energy to be dynamic and live an exciting and passionate life, not food that makes you want to fall asleep after you eat it.”

Gourmet Food

Dining at a fancy restaurant can mean fatty foods, scintillating sauces and decadent desserts. Do you just enjoy the experience and work out at a gym twice as long the next day, or are there simple things you can do to make a gourmet meal memorable and healthy?

Della Lisi, health education associate for the Orange County Health Care Agency, says restaurants are usually willing to accommodate healthy dietary requests.

“You can order a salad with dressing on the side, or ask for lemon juice sprinkled on top,” says Lisi. “I know it's hard to say basta to pasta, but you can actually order pasta primavera minus the pasta and add an order of shrimp to make it a healthy meal. Linguine with red clam sauce is much better for you than the rich white cream sauce, or you can order a chicken dish that's not fried or cooked in too much oil.”

At seafood restaurants, Lisi suggests ordering fish that's baked or broiled and not battered and fried. Steamed veggies are a preferred accoutrement instead of fries or a baked potato with sour cream. And beware the bread basket, says Lisi – it's loaded with calories.  

Another challenge when dining out is portion control. Many restaurants serve entrees that could feed an army. Some restaurants such as k'ya in Laguna Beach and Anaheim offer small plate menus to combat that issue.

“People are trying to eat smaller portions,” says k'ya Managing Partner Richard Ham, whose restaurant specializes in Pacific Rim cuisine. “They don't always want a big steak. That's why we're doing small plates, which have proved to be very popular.”

Sometimes when dining out, common sense is the best way to judge a healthy meal. If something sounds bad for you, it probably is.

Fast Food

It's hard to dispute the statement that “fast food is bad food,” yet we all succumb to the need of grabbing a quick bite to eat. Fortunately, the fast-food industry has responded to demands for healthier fare, and some are making it easier to alter existing menu choices.

For example, Irvine-based Taco Bell offers customers what it calls a “Fresco-Style” alternative designed to help cut fat and calories but not the flavor. Consumers can substitute fresh Fiesta Salsa (a mild mix of chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro) for the cheese and sauce found in many of the popular Mexican food chain's dishes.

“Cutting your calorie and fat intake, combined with an active lifestyle, can increase energy and self-esteem and decrease the chance of obesity and certain diseases,”  says registered dietitian Jackie Newgent, a nutritional consultant for Taco Bell.

In a world where consumers rank taste and convenience twice as significantly as eating healthy, a concept such as Fresco Style is essential to promoting a healthy diet without sacrificing taste.

And – for those who refuse to give up fried foods but still want to eat healthy - Taco Bell and other fast-food chains have responded to a nationwide concern about high levels of trans fat in fast food by switching from partially hydrogenated soybean oil to a zero grams trans fat canola oil.

Christopher Trela is a regular contributor to Churm Media.