FIGURING OUT FOOD LABELS PART 1: NUTRITION FACTS
Almost every food and beverage we buy is required to display a food label that explains its nutritional values, but understanding these labels can sometimes be confusing. Learning exactly what’s in the foods we eat can help us make more informed decisions and healthier choices. It will also enable those of us who are on restricted diets to keep from eating foods that contain ingredients we shouldn’t have.
Before we dissect a label, it helps to know how many calories and other food values an average person should consume in a day. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides the following dietary nutrient recommendations for people who are healthy and don’t have any special medical issues:
RECOMMENDED AVERAGE UPPER LIMIT DAILY INTAKE IN HEALTHY INACTIVE ADULTS
Fat (g) Saturated
Fat (g) Total Carbs (g) Sugars (g) Proteins (g) Cholesterol (mg) Sodium (mg) Fiber (g)
Females 19-30 yrs 2,000 65 20 300 30 50 300 2400 25
Females 31-50 yrs 1,800 58.5 18 270 27 45 270 2400 25
Females 51+ yrs 1,600 52 16 240 24 40 240 2400 25
Males 19-30 yrs 2,400 78 24 360 36 60 360 2400 25
Males 31-50 yrs 2,200 71.5 22 330 33 55 330 2400 25
Males 51+ yrs 2,000 65 20 300 30 50 300 2400 25
Each pound you gain or lose is 3,500 calories and the amount you gain or lose is CUMULATIVE in excess of what your body needs as a minimum. (Source: USDA, http://www.nutrition.gov)
As you can see, these are the maximum limits. People who are on restricted calorie, fat, cholesterol, sugar or sodium diets may need less.
Next, let’s look at a label. This one is for a single serving microwave pizza. Please note that the calories in the pizza are 560, so if someone is on a 2,000 calorie a day diet, this one pizza would make up 28% of a day’s worth of calories, which is about average for one meal. However, if someone is on a 1,600 calorie a day diet, this would represent 35% of a total day’s calories. While the total fat content isn’t bad for one meal based on 2,000 calories a day, the saturated fat, which contributes more to cardiovascular disease, is 13 grams, or 65% of a day’s total allowance. A person who eats this would have to be extra-careful about controlling their intake of saturated fats for the rest of the day. Also, they may have already eaten bacon and eggs for breakfast. In that case, eating this pizza may have pushed them over their recommended daily intake of saturated fats. Another danger area from eating this pizza is from the sodium content. 1,090 milligrams is 45% of the daily recommendation of 2,400 milligrams, so again, someone would have to be very careful with sodium the rest of the day, especially if they have high blood pressure or other reasons to control their sodium intake.
Most Americans exceed the recommended daily protein allowances by quite a lot. As you can see from the food label, 23 grams of protein in this one meal represents almost half of the protein allowance on the 2,000 calorie a day diet. According to http://www.dietitian.com, high protein intake stresses our kidneys and does not result in greater muscle gain, even for weight lifters and athletes.
Believe it or not, there is sugar content in this pizza. Perhaps the sugars came from natural sources, like tomatoes, or maybe sugars were added to the tomato sauce. The list of ingredients (not shown) would tell us if sugar was added to the pizza. By paying careful attention to food labels, we can learn how much sugar we consume daily and monitor that number. Added sugars contribute to calories without providing any nutritional benefit. Also be aware that getting 25 grams of fiber a day can be a challenge. Fiber is mainly found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. There is virtually no fiber in animal foods or processed flour products.
Finally, it’s a good idea to pay close attention to the serving size of a food product. For example, my husband’s cereal, Post Selects Great Grains, shows that a serving size equals ½ cup, which means all of the calories, fat and other nutritional data applies to just ½ cup of cereal. My husband eats about 1 ½ cups of cereal at one time, so to calculate his nutrient totals for breakfast, we would have to multiply each of the values by 3. Looking at serving sizes can be a real eye-opener. Most of the time, we serve ourselves about twice as much as the label suggests. You can imagine how the calories, fat and sodium add up quickly when we eat more than the recommended serving size.
A lot of us don’t understand why we can’t lose weight, even when we watch what we eat. What we eat is very relevant, but how much we eat is even more important. Reading food labels and understanding serving sizes and nutrient content is the first step to planning a healthier diet. Next time, we’ll examine ingredients and their effect on nutrition.
Debbie Markel, Certified Herbalist and Certified Natural Health Professional, is the proprietor of Apothecarian Herbals in Powhatan. She can be reached at 598-5352.
ABOUT HOW MUCH IS ONE SERVING?
MILK, MILK ALTERNATIVES & MILK PRODUCTS GROUP
• 1 cup (8 oz.) milk or yogurt
• 2 slices cheese, 1/8” thick (1½ oz.)
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1½ cups ice milk, ice cream, or frozen
yogurt
MEAT & MEAT ALTERNATIVES GROUP
• 2 oz. to 3 oz. (size of a deck of cards) cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish
• 2 eggs
• 7 oz. tofu
• 1 cup cooked legumes (dried beans or peas)
• 4 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 cup nuts or seeds
VEGETABLE GROUP
• 1/2 cup cooked vegetables
• 1/2 cup raw chopped vegetables
• 1 cup raw leafy vegetables
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup vegetable juice
FRUIT GROUP
• 1 whole medium fruit (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup dried fruit
• 1/2 cup canned fruit
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup fruit juice
BREAD & CEREAL GROUP
• 1 slice bread
• 1 medium muffin
• 1/2 hot dog bun or hamburger bun
• 1/2 bagel or english muffin
• 4 small crackers
• 1 tortilla
• 1/2 cup pasta
• 1 cup cold cereal
• 1/2 cup cooked cereal
• 1/2 cup rice
Source:http://www.nutrition.gov”
by | January 24, 2006
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