Navigating Food Labels
 by: Dianne Villano, CPFI
Here are a few tips to help you dissect the food
label before your next visit to the supermarket:
SERVING SIZE MATTERS
Just because the food label lists a certain number
of calories per serving does NOT mean that's how much YOU eat. In
fact, almost everyone I know consumes much more than the serving size
listed on the Nutrition Facts panel. Many times the amounts are just
not realistic, and most people -- rather than counting out 15 chips
or measuring a three-ounce serving -- either fool themselves into
thinking they're eating the "right amount" or ignore it
altogether. And because the ENTIRE Nutrition Facts panel is based
on the "serving size," it's very important to get it right
or all the information will be inaccurate.
So, what should you do? Try to get an accurate measurement
once in a while. I generally recommend breaking out the measuring
utensils for a month until you get proficient at eyeballing.
Comparing calories from food to food is also confusing
because food densities differ, so a volume-to-volume approach doesn't
always work. It would be simpler to comparison-shop if there was a
"calories per gram" standard on the panel -- similar to
the way supermarkets have "unit" pricing.
CALORIES ARE KEY
The reality is that calories are a good thing --
they're a source of energy. The problem arises when we eat too many
of them. Females typically need 1500 - 1,800 calories or fewer per
day, while males need about 2,200. click here to get a rough estimate
of your caloric needs
If you still have trouble understanding the value
of a calorie, keep this in mind: for every extra 100 calories you
eat each day, you would have to walk for an additional 25 minutes
to burn it off. At least you'll have something to relate to the next
time you reach for that second bite of cake.
Oh, and about those "Calories from Fat"
on the Nutrition Facts panel -- as a general rule, a low-fat food
should have no more than 20 percent of the total calories from fat.
So if you have a food with 200 calories, and 100 calories are from
fat, do the math -- fifty percent of its calories from fat, far from
20 percent, so it's not a low-fat food.
Figuring Out fats
We've come a long way since the days of "cutting
the fat" We need fat in our diets -- The AHA and ADA recommend
20 to 30 percent of our daily food intake should come from fat, with
no more than 10% of your daily calories coming from saturated (bad)
fats
The Bad Fats
Saturated: These fats, which are listed on the label,
are found primarily in animal products like meat, whole-milk dairy
products, poultry skin, and egg yolks. Consuming too many of these
fats can raise your "bad" cholesterol levels and contribute
to arteriosclosis
Transfats : This fat was created to increase food
shelf life. Manufacturers take healthy polyunsaturated oils and blast
them with hydrogen gas to solidify them, and, in the process, make
them incredibly unhealthy. The problem is that trans fat won't be
listed on the label until 2006, so you need to look for trans fat
clues. Know "suspect" foods, such as margarines (unless
they say "no trans fat" on the label), shortenings, deep-fried
foods, fast foods, and many commercial baked goods such as pies, cookies,
cakes, crackers, and doughnuts. Check the ingredients list, and be
on the lookout for partially hydrogenated oil -- if it's there, you
have trans fat. Also, many products now promote that they are "trans
fat free" -- look for this on the front of the packaging.
The Good Fats
Unsaturated fats are found in products derived from
plant sources, such as vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds. There are
two main categories:
Monounsaturated: These fats are found in high concentrations
in canola, peanut, and olive oils, as well as olives, peanuts and
peanut butter, and avocados. Studies have found that monounsaturated
fat helps lower LDL (the "bad") cholesterol and raise HDL
(the "good") cholesterol levels in your body.
Polyunsaturated: These fats are prevalent in sunflower,
corn, safflower, cottonseed, and soybean oils, nuts, and fish (omega-3).
They've been found to help lower total cholesterol levels and prevent
heart disease (particularly the omega-3s).
Unfortunately, neither type of "good" fat
is required to be listed on the food label, but some companies do
provide this information. You can also subtract the saturated fat
from the total, and check the ingredient list for trans fat clues
-- anything left over is probably "good" fat. You'll only
get a vague idea, but hey, it's better than nothing!
CARBOHYDRATES ARE NOT ALL BAD
Carbs are taking a bit of a bashing these days ,
even though they are an important nutrient and necessary for survival.
Foods that contain carbohydrates include fruits, vegetables, starches,
beans, nuts, milk, and yogurt. Carbohydrates are also found in any
food that contains sugar such as cookies, cakes, soft drinks, syrups,
and, of course, table sugar.
Clearly, there are different types of carbs and they
are not all created equal. While most carbs -- sugar is the best example
-- are digested and turned into blood sugar, other carbs behave differently.
In fact, if you are looking at the Nutrition Facts panel, you will
see carbohydrates broken down into two categories: dietary fiber and
sugar.
What exactly is dietary fiber? Simply put, it's the
indigestible parts of plant cells. Although it is a carbohydrate,
fiber does not convert to glucose and thus does not raise your blood
sugar the way other carbohydrates typically do, and it makes you feel
full longer -- a good thing.
The "sugars" section includes those that
are present naturally in the food (such as lactose in milk and fructose
in fruit), as well as sugars added to the food during processing.
In most cases, your body can't distinguish between the two. If you're
interested in finding out whether a sweetener has been added, check
the ingredients list for terms such as "sugar (sucrose),"
"fructose," "maltose," "lactose," "honey,"
"syrup," "corn syrup," "high-fructose corn
syrup," "molasses," and "fruit juice concentrate."
A FEW CLUES
A Percent Daily Value (%DV) is listed for each nutrient.
These percentages are helpful for determining a food's nutritional
value, or lack thereof. They tell you whether one serving of food
contributes a lot or a little to your total nutrient intake for the
day (based on an average 2000-calorie diet). Be Aware that most women
on a fat reduction food plan will take in closer to 1500 calories
a day, so adjust accordingly
About The Author
Copyright © Custom Bodies, Inc. 2004
Dianne Villano, President of Custom Bodies is a personal
fitness instructor certified through the National Academy of Sports
Medicine with over 16 years of experience. Custom Bodies has been
serving the bay area since 1996 with weight loss & fitness programs
for every fitness level. For more articles or free fitness tools visit
http://www.custombodiestampabay.com.
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