Reading Nutrition Fact Labels
The Nutrition Facts Label: An Overview
Food labels provide a wealth of nutritional information about the food you purchase so you can make healthy choices.
Looking at the sample food label below, you'll see the serving size and servings per container listed at the top. Remember that if the package contains two servings, you must double the amounts listed for calories, fat, cholesterol, etc, since food labels list the amount per serving. For example, this label lists a one-cup serving size, but the package contains two servings. That means if you eat the entire container, you've eaten 520 calories (twice the amount listed for one serving).
List of Nutrients
The label lists calories, calories from fat, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate fiber, sugars and protein. The label might also contain calories from saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and monounsaturated fat. The number following each listing identifies the amount of the nutrient in grams (g) or milligrams (mg) contained in one serving.
Calories
Calories count when it comes to trying to lose or just maintain your weight. A dietitian can help you determine the proper number of calories you should eat daily. (You may need to eat fewer calories than your body burns.) By reading food labels to compare similar products, you can find similar items that contain a surprisingly wide range of calories.
Total Fat
Total fat indicates how much fat per serving a food contains. Fats that are beneficial for health include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, while fats that negatively influence health include saturated and trans fats. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help to lower your blood cholesterol and protect your heart. Saturated and trans fat can raise your blood cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. The cholesterol in food might also increase your blood cholesterol.
Fat contains more than twice the calories of carbohydrate or protein. Although monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats make healthier choices, you still need to remain vigilant about the total number of calories you eat if you want to maintain a healthy weight. To lose weight, you must limit the amount of total calories, including fat, that you eat.
Sodium
The terms "sodium" and "table salt" are used interchangeably. Table salt contains sodium. While sodium doesn't affect blood glucose levels, it might affect blood pressure. Many people eat much more sodium than they need. In fact, a healthy adult should eat less than 2400 mg per day. To flavor your food, you can substitute herbs and spices for salt in cooking.
Total Carbohydrate
Both sugar and fiber make up the grams of total carbohydrates. The American Diabetes Association warns that if you look only at the sugar number, you might end up excluding nutritious foods such as fruits and milk, mistakenly believing they contain too much sugar. You might also overeat foods such as cereals and grains that contain no natural or added sugar, but do contain a lot of carbohydrate.
In general, adults should eat 25-30 grams of fiber per day. People with diabetes should consume at least the same amount, and some research has shown benefit in consuming more, up to 50 grams per day. Good sources of fiber include dried beans (such as kidney or pinto beans), fruits, vegetables, and grains.
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Thursday
November 20, 2008
Tip of the Day
Regular exercise increases the number of insulin receptor sites on cells, making the body more sensitive to insulin.
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