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May 06, 2005
Nutrition Facts Label
Reading the Nutrition Facts Label is one the first steps you can make towards eating healthier. Besides, how can you eat something without knowing what you’re eating? Almost everything on the food label is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Before they took over, food companies could put whatever they wanted on the label. Now, the serving sizes are regulated using household measurements and certain nutrients have to be listed.
Grams of total fat and saturated fat must be on the label, but monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans fat are all optional. However in 2006 companies will be required to list grams of trans fat on the food label. Some companies already do, but others will probably wait until the last minute. For now, if you see the words hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredient list, you’ll know there is trans fat in the product. A quick way to tell if a food is low fat is by looking at the calories and the calories from fat. If the calories from fat is 30% or less than the calories, then the food is low fat. When you’re in the grocery store and pick up a food, flip it over and quick eyeball these two numbers and decide if it’s a good choice.
Sometimes the carbohydrates are split up into grams of fiber and grams of sugar. The total grams of carbohydrate is most important, especially if you are diabetic. Low-carbohydrate food companies try to trick you with listings like net carbs, which I also recommend you disregard. There is not a legal definition for this term and is not regulated by the FDA. Fiber is also an important number because high fiber diets are beneficial.
The percentages on the food label can be confusing. These are based on a 2000 calorie diet and not everyone eats this amount of calories. It’s best to ignore these percentages and just look at the numbers.
Posted by Lisa at May 6, 2005 10:39 AM
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