Just the Facts, Ma’am

Just The Facts, Ma’am

It’s all in the details… When you buy clothes, do you check the label to see what it’s made of? And how you will need to launder it?

When you sign a contract, do you read through everything you are signing to, before you sign it?

When you apply for a job, do you read through the qualifications and requirements before you apply or send in your resume?

Of course you do.

Shouldn’t we do the same for our food? Food is what we put into our body to provide nourishment, necessary vitamins & minerals, and critical macronutrients.

It’s what keeps us healthy and alive.

Let’s get the facts Nutrition labels were designed to educate the consumer about the foods they are eating.

How often do you pick up something and read the label to determine if you really want to eat it?

Serving Size This number is at the top for a reason!

ALL of the nutritional information on the rest of the label applies to ONE SERVING.

Serving sizes are provided in cups or pieces, as well as by grams.

The FDA sets the serving sizes by measurements, NOT recommendations!

The numbers on the label are calculated per serving.

Example: Regular size bag of potato chips

Serving size = 1 ounce, or approximately 17 chips

When was the last time you counted your chips?

The nutrition label says it has 160 calories per serving on the potato chips.

One serving = 17 chips

There are 10 servings in the bag…so what if you ate ¼ of the bag with lunch and then had another ¼ of the bag with dinner one day?

You will have eaten half the bag = 85 chips, and 800 calories in chips alone.

Pay attention to the serving sizes – How much are you really eating?

Calories Again, calories noted on labels are directly correlated with the serving size!

If you only eat one serving, the calorie count on the label will be accurate for you.

However, if you eat a double or even triple serving size, the number of calories you consume will also double or triple!

Percent Daily Value This section tells you the percent of each nutrient in a single serving, in terms of the daily recommended amount.

Percent Daily Value is a difficult value to work with on a daily basis –

It should be used more as a guide.

If you want LESS of a nutrient (such as saturated fat, cholesterol or sodium), choose foods with a lower % Daily Value

5% or less is LOW

If you want MORE of a nutrient (such as fiber), choose foods with a higher % Daily Value:

20% or more is HIGH

Fats The number for Total Fat is important, however, you also want to look closely at the numbers for saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fats.

Steer clear of saturated and trans fats.

Saturated fats will come primarily from the proteins you eat, so it does not need to be supplemented.

Trans fats are just bad news, and should be avoided.

Cholesterol This is a fatty chemical that we need in our diets, but we get what we need from animal products.

Too much can elevate your blood cholesterol levels, and raise risk of heart disease.

Sodium The recommended daily limit for an average adult is 2,300 milligrams daily.

Too much sodium in one’s diet can cause high blood pressure.

Does “0” really mean “0”? This is where labels can get a little tricky.

When a nutrition label says a food contains “0 g” of something like trans fats, or sugar, it means the food contains less than 0.5 grams of that per serving.

“Sugar-free” jello

Imagine if you have a product that says “0 g” of trans fats.

However, the ingredient label includes “partially hydrogenated oil.”

It is recommended you eat LESS THAN 2 grams of trans fats a day.

Don’t forget the ingredient list…

Look closely at the ingredients label, too!

Contents are listed in order of volume…

so the first ingredient is the largest amount,

the second ingredient is the second largest amount, etc.

What does this tell you? Everything is listed in order of volume.

The more volume of the ingredient in the product, the closer it is to the top of the list.

Do you know everything listed? Should you?

If you don’t recognize the ingredients, why would you be eating it?

Look at the big picture Many foods today are labeled with claims provided by the manufacturer.

It can be a little overwhelming, and you begin to think EVERYTHING must be good for you!

Have you seen me?Calorie FreeCholesterol FreeGluten FreeSugar FreeLow CholesterolMade With Real FruitFat FreeReduced CholesterolOrganicHigh Fiber/Good Source of Fiber

Low FatSodium FreeTrans Fat FreeReduced FatLow SodiumLeanReduced or Less SodiumExtra LeanHigh FiberLight/Lite

Some of the most common claims Claims are usually featured in ads for the foods, or in promotional copy for the foods.

Sometimes, they are on the packages, themselves.

The FDA has created strict definitions for each of the claims, but they may not mean what you think!

Labeling in a nutshell… “Free” means a food has the least possible amount of the specified nutrient

“Very Low” and “Low” means the food has a little more than the food labeled “Free”

“Reduced” or “Less” means the food has 25 percent less of a specific nutrient than the regular version of the food

A couple more terms: “Made With Real Fruit”

This doesn’t always mean whole fruit!

It might mean fruit extract, or fruit juice, which contains fewer nutrients and frequently more SUGAR than the whole fruit does.

There are no rules for HOW MUCH fruit/extract/juice needs to be in a product to carry this claim.

Don’t be impressed with this claim unless fruit (NOT fruit juice) is listed in the first three ingredients.

“Organic”

Items with “100% organic” are certified to have been produced using only methods thought good for the earth.

“Organic” means the item contains at least 95% organic ingredients.

Typically, organic items are made without potentially harmful pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, synthetic hormones or genetic engineering.

Best advice? First rule: Stick with products that don’t need an ingredient label!

Does the broccoli from the produce department have a label? Nope.

Second rule: Choose products that have the LEAST number of ingredients on the label.

Aim for less than 6 ingredients in total!

Third rule: Purchase products that have ingredients you KNOW.

Don’t know what “hydrolysate” is? Then why would you be eating it?

Fourth rule: The first ingredients listed on the label should never be sugar, high fructose, or fructose. May as well just say sugar, sugar, and more sugar! No nutritional value there.

Bottom line for weight loss and health

Nutrition labels are designed to help you make healthier food choices.

Pay attention to serving sizes, as they are what the rest of the label is based upon.

Pay attention to the Daily Values as a guide and watch recommended intake levels.

Try to purchase only products with limited number of ingredients, and those you recognize.