How To Read A Health Food Label

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How To Read A Health Food Label

• By Madeline McMillin

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Whats on the food label?

• Calories. Despite all the talk about carbs and
  fat, calories are what counts for weight control.
  So the first thing to look for on a label is the
  number of calories per serving. The FDA's new
  Calories Count program aims to make calorie
  information on labels easier to find by putting
  it in larger, bolder type.

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Whats on the food label?

• Serving size and number of servings per
  container. This information is important to
  understanding everything else on the label. My
  daughter was surprised when she realized that the
  ice-cream sandwich she regularly ate had twice
  the calories she thought it did. She became more
  confused because some people who make your food
  take what most of us would consider a
  single-serve container and call it two servings,
  hoping the numbers on the label will look better
  to buyers.

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Whats on the food label?

• Dietary Fiber. It helps fill you up, and you need
  at least 25 grams daily. To be considered high in
  fiber, a food must contain least 5 grams per
  serving. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
  provide fiber.

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Whats on the food label?

• Fat. Fat has more calories per gram than carbs or
  protein, and all fats have 9 calories in one
  gram. Choose unsaturated fats whenever possible,
  and limit foods with saturated and trans fats
  (also called trans fatty acids). People who make
  your food have been required to list the amount
  of trans fat per serving since Jan. 1, 2006, and
  this information is already showing up on labels.
  In the meantime, look for terms such as
  "partially hydrogenated" or "hydrogenated," which
  show the product contains trans fats.

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Whats on the food label?

• Sodium per serving. Sodium should be restricted
  to 2,300 mg per day (that's less than 1 teaspoon
  of salt) for healthy adults, and 1,500 mg for
  those with health problems or family histories of
  high blood pressure. To reduce the amount of
  sodium you eat, choose less processed foods.

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What is on the food label?

• Sugar. It adds plenty of calories, and is often
  listed on the label in "alias" terms, like "high
  fructose corn syrup," "dextrose," "invert sugar,"
  "turbinado," etc. Choose foods with less than 5
  grams per serving to help control calories.

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Whats on the food label?

• Daily Value ( DV). This reflects the
  percentage of a certain nutrient that the food
  supplies, based on a 2,000 calorie diet. It gives
  you a rough idea of the food's nutrient
  contribution to your diet. The nutrients
  highlighted in the DV are a part of a list,
  limited to those of concern to the typical
  American.

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Whats on the food label?

• Ingredient List. Manufacturers are required to
  list all of the ingredients contained in the
  product by weight. A jar of tomato sauce with
  tomatoes as the first ingredient lets you know
  that tomatoes are the main ingredient. The spice
  or herb listed last is contained in the least
  amount. This information is impotant for anyone
  who has allergies, and for careful shoppers who
  want, say, more tomatoes than water, or whole
  grain as the leading ingredient.

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Is it really better for you?

• The FDA sets specific rules for what food
  manufacturers can call "light," "low," "reduced,"
  "free," and other food terms. Here's the low-down
  on interpreting these terms
• "Is organic food really better than usual foods?
  Not necessarily."
• "Healthy" food must be low in fat, with limited
  cholesterol and sodium.
• Anything labeled "free" must only contain tiny
  amounts of the ingredient in each serving. For
  example, "trans-fat free" or "fat-free" products
  can have only 0.5 mg of trans fats or fat
  "cholesterol-free" foods can only have 2
  milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams of
  saturated fat.
• A serving of a food labeled "low sodium" can have
  a maximum of 140 milligrams of sodium.
• A serving of "low cholesterol" food can have a
  maximum of 20 milligrams of cholesterol and 2
  grams of saturated fat.
• One serving of a "low-fat" food can have a
  maximum of 3 grams of fat.
• A serving of a "low-calorie" food can have a
  maximum of 40 calories.
• A serving of a food labeled "reduced" must have
  25 less of the ingredient (such as fat) than a
  serving of the regular version.
• One serving of a "light" food must have 50 less
  fat or 1/3 fewer calories than the regular
  version.

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Resources

• Website- http//www.webmd.com/food-recipes/featu
  res/how-to-read-food-label