Those gosh-darned food labels!
Food Label Reading Primer
One key way to know what you’re getting from your food is to be able to read food labels.
Have you ever looked at a food label and wondered to yourself, what do these numbers mean, there’s so many of them? What should I be looking for? Which numbers and values represent healthier choices? Here is a guide to help you out.
Back to the food label now...yay!
On the food label, Cholesterol content is dietary cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol is found mainly in products made with animal fat. Dietary cholesterol may affect your blood levels of cholesterol. Therefore, it is recommended that you consume no more than 300mg of dietary cholesterol per day.
If you have had a heart attack or stroke in the past you would be better off limiting your dietary cholesterol intake to no more than 200mg per day. As a reference level for you, 1 egg-yolk contains 213mg cholesterol. This is why eating whole eggs is something you want to try and limit.
This is an example of choices you face:
Egg whites – no cholesterol, lacks the yellow color and flavor of yolk.
Whole egg – 213 mg cholesterol, has the yellow color and flavor of yolk.
Egg substitute – 99% egg whites, 5 mg. cholesterol, has the yellow color and flavor of yolk, plus salt and chemicals.
Or, you can also use smaller portions of yolk, such ½ of a yolk or less.
With all the talk on carbohydrates, low-carb this, less-carb that, I recommend that you look at carbohydrates next, especially if you have diabetes. I urge you to look at carbohydrates for several reasons, one of which is to stress that not all carbohydrates are “bad.”
Carbohydrates come in 3 main forms:
1) starches, cereals, grains, breads and starchy vegetables,
2) fruit, and
3) milk and yogurt.
Each of these groups has approximately 15 grams of carbohydrate in each serving (remember the food label!). For example, 1 slice of bread has 15 grams of carbohydrate, just like 1 small apple has 15grams of carbohydrate. Milk and yogurt typically contain between 12 and 15 grams of carbohydrate per serving.
Milk and yogurt also contain 8 grams of protein per serving. This is a great source of protein, and depending on type, may contain milk-fat which adds some balance to this source of carbohydrates. The added protein, and at times fat will slow down the rate at which they are digested.
Since each of these groups has about the same number of carbohydrate grams per serving, they can be substituted or “exchanged” with one another. Therefore, they are called carbohydrate exchanges.
The more you know about your eating habits, and the more aware you are, the better. Plus, counting your servings of any food will keep your total intake lower, and will aid in weight loss or maintenance.
Now that I have described the importance of carbohydrate counting, I will go into more detail about carbohydrates.
One form that carbohydrates come in is in the form of sugars, both natural and added. Natural sugars are lactose found in milk and yogurt products, fructose found naturally in fruit, and maltose found in starch, and they are perfectly healthy for your body. It’s the added sugars, such as the powdered white stuff you find on the dinner table, or the high-fructose corn syrup in soft-drinks that your body does not like so much, and that will rust and tarnish your precious body.
When choosing the type of carbohydrate exchange you want to eat at a given meal think about it like this. Which is going to leave you feeling fuller longer? A small brownie that contains 30 grams of carbohydrate as sugar and flour, or a large salad with vegetables which have minimal carbohydrates and a small apple? I’m betting that the meal containing the latter will keep you feeling fuller longer, and it probably contains fewer calories.
Unfortunately, when reading a food label it is not always easy to know when the grams of sugar are added sugars and when they are natural sugars. One easy way to tell is comparing “like” items. I like to recommend comparing a plain-flavored yogurt with one that is fruited. If the plain yogurt contains 12 grams of sugar in 1 cup while the fruited yogurt contains 27 grams of sugar in 1 cup, you know that 15 of those sugar grams come from the added sugars. Those extra sugars will also add a lot of extra calories to that yogurt. Once you know that, you would be better off choosing a yogurt without all that added sugar. You would be able to have twice as much plain yogurt for the same number of carbohydrate grams, and calories as fruited yogurt!
Carbohydrate also comes in the form of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber, also known as “roughage,” is something your body craves. That is not to say that you should down the stuff as if it were water and you were parched in a desert; but rather, dietary fiber is your body’s way of cleansing itself by moving waste out of your body more quickly. For objects in the outside world, we’ve got the “dust buster.” For our intestines and blood vessels we have fiber which we get from food.
As a helpful hint, drink plenty of water when eating foods with fiber, as it will help to move it through your body, and decrease your risk of constipation and passing gas. If you eat too much fiber without water to help it along, it can form a solid mass in your body and create a blockage. So if you add lots of fiber, make sure you get lots of fluids. A good way to get fiber is to eat foods that naturally contain the fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, because they have the fiber, nutrients, and water all packed together in the food source the way nature intended it to be.
Carbohydrates also happen to be your body’s favorite source of fuel. Carbohydrates break down into the most easily useable form of energy for your body and are thus the first things your body wants to burn up for energy. Your body does not have to do extra work to get energy from carbohydrates, whereas it does if it wants to get energy from fat or protein.
To get energy from fat or protein, the body has to break them down into small molecules. Inside of the cells, these molecules get transformed into precursors for glucose. This requires an input of energy from your own body first, requiring extra work. Also, molecules that are attached to the protein or fat get discarded as waste products. This process is therefore much less efficient. It would be like trying to run your car on very dilute gasoline rather than the full-strength kind you purchase at gas stations.
When you go for a walk, run, or swim, your body uses carbohydrates for energy. Your body breaks it down and burns it up. This is why when you exercise, your body requires less insulin to be pumped out to take care of straggling glucose in your blood.
When you look at the label, total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and any other fat designation that can be found on the food label is important.
Your body yearns for the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are in foods, and detests the saturated and trans-fats that are found in baked goods. Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, and have been shown to improve your HDL or your “healthy” cholesterol while lowering your LDL or “lousy” cholesterol.
Ingredients to look for in the foods that are monounsaturated fats include: olive, canola, sesame, or peanut oils. Another delicious and nutritious source of monounsaturated fats is avocado. An added perk to choosing these types of oils other than their health benefits, is that they also are full-bodied with very distinct flavor which can add an extra element of excitement to your cooking.
Polyunsaturated fat is also liquid at room temperature. An easy way to remember which fats are good for you is, if it is liquid sitting on the table, then, it is also liquid flowing through your blood. Also, anything with the word “unsaturated” will be “un-hard,” or liquid at room temperature. Some examples of polyunsaturated fats are corn, safflower, or other vegetable oils.
Types of fat that you want to limit or avoid are saturated fats. Saturated fat is typically found in foods of animal origin, such as milk, cheese, meat, lard, or butter. There are two types of plant fat that are also very highly saturated and that you want to avoid as much as possible. These are Coconut and palm oil.
Another type of fat that you want to limit or avoid is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. These are trans-fat. Trans-fat hurt your arteries and blood vessels just like saturated fats do, and perhaps in a worse way.
I recommend that you consume the most of monounsaturated fat. Then polyunsaturated fat is acceptable to consume in moderation, and then, as best as you can, avoid saturated and trans-fats.
Finally, other types of very healthy, beneficial, and delicious fat that your body needs are the Omega-3 and the Omega-6 fatty acids. These are fats that our body cannot make by itself, and therefore requires from food.
Excellent sources of Omega-3 fats are fish, such as salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, and tuna. Yes, that’s right, that canned tuna that your mother insisted on you eating when you were a kid, is chock-full of heart and mind-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It has been shown in numerous studies performed in hospitals and clinics that Omega-3 fats support positive emotion, and help prevent or decrease the incidence of depression. Omega-3 fats also aid in the development of a baby’s brain. So, if you are a mother to be, get your Omega-3!
If you do not like fish, or choose not to eat fish for any reason, that’s OK, mother nature came up with an amazing solution. Another excellent source of omega-3 fats are found in flax seeds. These seeds are approximately the size and shape of sesame seeds, except they are dark. You can grind them and sprinkle them on top of your favorite breakfast cereal, and they’ll provide you with a delicious, yet nutty crunch. Not only that, but they add a little bit of extra fiber, and we can all use fiber!
Yet another important number to look for is the Sodium content of your food. While sodium in and of itself will not cause you to gain weight since it does not provide calories, sodium is a mineral that can wreak havoc on your body if you consume too much of it, especially if you have ever been diagnosed with kidney or liver disease, or hypertension, also known as high blood pressure.
The current recommendation set by the American Heart Association for a healthy individual for sodium intake is about 2400mg per day. The government is considering reducing that number to no more than 1500mg per day.
Sodium may cause you to retain fluid. You know how you might sometimes wake up after eating a heavily salty meal and you feel bloated or your rings feel a little tighter than usual? This is extra fluid flowing through your veins due to a high sodium intake. Because there is more fluid to pump through the same thin blood vessels, this can increase your blood pressure.
An intake of 1000mg of sodium per day can cause your body to retain up to 1 cup or 8 fluid ounces of water. Therefore if you eat foods with a lot of salt In them you may be eating somewhere around 5000 or 6000mg of sodium in one day! That means you will retain five or six cups of fluid, nearly three pounds! Therefore, if you have kidney or liver disease, or even hypertension, this fluid makes a greater strain on your arteries, heart and veins, and your organs.
Normal blood pressure is a value of 120/80. If either of your numbers is higher than those values on a consistent basis, your doctor may have told you that you have “Hypertension.” This means that your blood pressure is elevated.
Having elevated blood pressure puts you at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
Additionally, increasing your fruit and vegetable intake and increasing the amount of time you spend being physically active every day can help you lower your blood pressure. You don’t need drugs!
One key way to know what you’re getting from your food is to be able to read food labels.
Have you ever looked at a food label and wondered to yourself, what do these numbers mean, there’s so many of them? What should I be looking for? Which numbers and values represent healthier choices? Here is a guide to help you out.
The first thing you want to look at is the Serving size. Why do I say that? Well, you need to know how much you are eating. You need to know how much of what you have in front of you is considered one serving. Therefore, you also want to pay close attention to # of servings per container.
For example, when you buy a 20 oz bottle of coke, do you realize that whole bottle is more than one serving? You’re really drinking 2.5 servings. The reason that is so important is that if you’re going to drink the whole bottle, then you need to realize that you’re drinking more than what you might think you are. This means that you have to multiply every number on that label by 2.5. Therefore, instead of 100 calories in the bottle, because there are 2.5 servings, you’re really drinking 250 calories. This may make you think twice before deciding to drink that whole bottle.
The second most important thing to look at after serving size and number of servings per container is the number of calories per serving. As I described before, the number of calories you eat in a day minus the number of calories you use or burn in a day determines whether you will gain or lose weight.
The food label is a tool that you can use to help you to calculate how many calories you are eating from a food. This can help you decide what to eat, and will help you shape your eating habits around your desired weight outcome.
One pound of fat contains 3500 Calories. This means, if you want to lose weight, eat one less portion than you might otherwise. That might be 100 or 200 Calories less! You can also calculate how much less to eat based on the amount of calories that you need. So, if you want to gain weight, do the opposite and eat a smidgen more.
The way you can calculate the number of calories you need when you are at rest, completely sedentary is by this simple method:
MEN: 66 + 6.2 (weight in pounds) + 12.7 (height in inches) – 6.8 (Age)
WOMEN: 655 + 4.4 (weight in pounds) + 4.6 (height in inches) – 4.7 (Age)
If you are overweight you will want to calculate your Ideal Body Weight. One method of doing this is as follows:
MEN: 106 pounds at 5’, then add 6 pounds for every inch taller than 5’.
WOMEN: 100 pounds at 5’, then add 5 pounds for every inch taller than 5’
Therefore if you are a male who is 5’9”, your ideal body weight will be 106 + 6x9 = 106 + 54 or 160 pounds.
Back to the food label now...yay!
On the food label, Cholesterol content is dietary cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol is found mainly in products made with animal fat. Dietary cholesterol may affect your blood levels of cholesterol. Therefore, it is recommended that you consume no more than 300mg of dietary cholesterol per day.
If you have had a heart attack or stroke in the past you would be better off limiting your dietary cholesterol intake to no more than 200mg per day. As a reference level for you, 1 egg-yolk contains 213mg cholesterol. This is why eating whole eggs is something you want to try and limit.
This is an example of choices you face:
Egg whites – no cholesterol, lacks the yellow color and flavor of yolk.
Whole egg – 213 mg cholesterol, has the yellow color and flavor of yolk.
Egg substitute – 99% egg whites, 5 mg. cholesterol, has the yellow color and flavor of yolk, plus salt and chemicals.
Or, you can also use smaller portions of yolk, such ½ of a yolk or less.
With all the talk on carbohydrates, low-carb this, less-carb that, I recommend that you look at carbohydrates next, especially if you have diabetes. I urge you to look at carbohydrates for several reasons, one of which is to stress that not all carbohydrates are “bad.”
Carbohydrates come in 3 main forms:
1) starches, cereals, grains, breads and starchy vegetables,
2) fruit, and
3) milk and yogurt.
Each of these groups has approximately 15 grams of carbohydrate in each serving (remember the food label!). For example, 1 slice of bread has 15 grams of carbohydrate, just like 1 small apple has 15grams of carbohydrate. Milk and yogurt typically contain between 12 and 15 grams of carbohydrate per serving.
Milk and yogurt also contain 8 grams of protein per serving. This is a great source of protein, and depending on type, may contain milk-fat which adds some balance to this source of carbohydrates. The added protein, and at times fat will slow down the rate at which they are digested.
Since each of these groups has about the same number of carbohydrate grams per serving, they can be substituted or “exchanged” with one another. Therefore, they are called carbohydrate exchanges.
The more you know about your eating habits, and the more aware you are, the better. Plus, counting your servings of any food will keep your total intake lower, and will aid in weight loss or maintenance.
Now that I have described the importance of carbohydrate counting, I will go into more detail about carbohydrates.
One form that carbohydrates come in is in the form of sugars, both natural and added. Natural sugars are lactose found in milk and yogurt products, fructose found naturally in fruit, and maltose found in starch, and they are perfectly healthy for your body. It’s the added sugars, such as the powdered white stuff you find on the dinner table, or the high-fructose corn syrup in soft-drinks that your body does not like so much, and that will rust and tarnish your precious body.
When choosing the type of carbohydrate exchange you want to eat at a given meal think about it like this. Which is going to leave you feeling fuller longer? A small brownie that contains 30 grams of carbohydrate as sugar and flour, or a large salad with vegetables which have minimal carbohydrates and a small apple? I’m betting that the meal containing the latter will keep you feeling fuller longer, and it probably contains fewer calories.
Unfortunately, when reading a food label it is not always easy to know when the grams of sugar are added sugars and when they are natural sugars. One easy way to tell is comparing “like” items. I like to recommend comparing a plain-flavored yogurt with one that is fruited. If the plain yogurt contains 12 grams of sugar in 1 cup while the fruited yogurt contains 27 grams of sugar in 1 cup, you know that 15 of those sugar grams come from the added sugars. Those extra sugars will also add a lot of extra calories to that yogurt. Once you know that, you would be better off choosing a yogurt without all that added sugar. You would be able to have twice as much plain yogurt for the same number of carbohydrate grams, and calories as fruited yogurt!
Carbohydrate also comes in the form of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber, also known as “roughage,” is something your body craves. That is not to say that you should down the stuff as if it were water and you were parched in a desert; but rather, dietary fiber is your body’s way of cleansing itself by moving waste out of your body more quickly. For objects in the outside world, we’ve got the “dust buster.” For our intestines and blood vessels we have fiber which we get from food.
As a helpful hint, drink plenty of water when eating foods with fiber, as it will help to move it through your body, and decrease your risk of constipation and passing gas. If you eat too much fiber without water to help it along, it can form a solid mass in your body and create a blockage. So if you add lots of fiber, make sure you get lots of fluids. A good way to get fiber is to eat foods that naturally contain the fiber, such as fruits and vegetables, because they have the fiber, nutrients, and water all packed together in the food source the way nature intended it to be.
Carbohydrates also happen to be your body’s favorite source of fuel. Carbohydrates break down into the most easily useable form of energy for your body and are thus the first things your body wants to burn up for energy. Your body does not have to do extra work to get energy from carbohydrates, whereas it does if it wants to get energy from fat or protein.
To get energy from fat or protein, the body has to break them down into small molecules. Inside of the cells, these molecules get transformed into precursors for glucose. This requires an input of energy from your own body first, requiring extra work. Also, molecules that are attached to the protein or fat get discarded as waste products. This process is therefore much less efficient. It would be like trying to run your car on very dilute gasoline rather than the full-strength kind you purchase at gas stations.
When you go for a walk, run, or swim, your body uses carbohydrates for energy. Your body breaks it down and burns it up. This is why when you exercise, your body requires less insulin to be pumped out to take care of straggling glucose in your blood.
When you look at the label, total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and any other fat designation that can be found on the food label is important.
Your body yearns for the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are in foods, and detests the saturated and trans-fats that are found in baked goods. Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, and have been shown to improve your HDL or your “healthy” cholesterol while lowering your LDL or “lousy” cholesterol.
Ingredients to look for in the foods that are monounsaturated fats include: olive, canola, sesame, or peanut oils. Another delicious and nutritious source of monounsaturated fats is avocado. An added perk to choosing these types of oils other than their health benefits, is that they also are full-bodied with very distinct flavor which can add an extra element of excitement to your cooking.
Polyunsaturated fat is also liquid at room temperature. An easy way to remember which fats are good for you is, if it is liquid sitting on the table, then, it is also liquid flowing through your blood. Also, anything with the word “unsaturated” will be “un-hard,” or liquid at room temperature. Some examples of polyunsaturated fats are corn, safflower, or other vegetable oils.
Types of fat that you want to limit or avoid are saturated fats. Saturated fat is typically found in foods of animal origin, such as milk, cheese, meat, lard, or butter. There are two types of plant fat that are also very highly saturated and that you want to avoid as much as possible. These are Coconut and palm oil.
Another type of fat that you want to limit or avoid is hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. These are trans-fat. Trans-fat hurt your arteries and blood vessels just like saturated fats do, and perhaps in a worse way.
I recommend that you consume the most of monounsaturated fat. Then polyunsaturated fat is acceptable to consume in moderation, and then, as best as you can, avoid saturated and trans-fats.
Finally, other types of very healthy, beneficial, and delicious fat that your body needs are the Omega-3 and the Omega-6 fatty acids. These are fats that our body cannot make by itself, and therefore requires from food.
Excellent sources of Omega-3 fats are fish, such as salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, and tuna. Yes, that’s right, that canned tuna that your mother insisted on you eating when you were a kid, is chock-full of heart and mind-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It has been shown in numerous studies performed in hospitals and clinics that Omega-3 fats support positive emotion, and help prevent or decrease the incidence of depression. Omega-3 fats also aid in the development of a baby’s brain. So, if you are a mother to be, get your Omega-3!
If you do not like fish, or choose not to eat fish for any reason, that’s OK, mother nature came up with an amazing solution. Another excellent source of omega-3 fats are found in flax seeds. These seeds are approximately the size and shape of sesame seeds, except they are dark. You can grind them and sprinkle them on top of your favorite breakfast cereal, and they’ll provide you with a delicious, yet nutty crunch. Not only that, but they add a little bit of extra fiber, and we can all use fiber!
Yet another important number to look for is the Sodium content of your food. While sodium in and of itself will not cause you to gain weight since it does not provide calories, sodium is a mineral that can wreak havoc on your body if you consume too much of it, especially if you have ever been diagnosed with kidney or liver disease, or hypertension, also known as high blood pressure.
The current recommendation set by the American Heart Association for a healthy individual for sodium intake is about 2400mg per day. The government is considering reducing that number to no more than 1500mg per day.
Sodium may cause you to retain fluid. You know how you might sometimes wake up after eating a heavily salty meal and you feel bloated or your rings feel a little tighter than usual? This is extra fluid flowing through your veins due to a high sodium intake. Because there is more fluid to pump through the same thin blood vessels, this can increase your blood pressure.
An intake of 1000mg of sodium per day can cause your body to retain up to 1 cup or 8 fluid ounces of water. Therefore if you eat foods with a lot of salt In them you may be eating somewhere around 5000 or 6000mg of sodium in one day! That means you will retain five or six cups of fluid, nearly three pounds! Therefore, if you have kidney or liver disease, or even hypertension, this fluid makes a greater strain on your arteries, heart and veins, and your organs.
Normal blood pressure is a value of 120/80. If either of your numbers is higher than those values on a consistent basis, your doctor may have told you that you have “Hypertension.” This means that your blood pressure is elevated.
Having elevated blood pressure puts you at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
Additionally, increasing your fruit and vegetable intake and increasing the amount of time you spend being physically active every day can help you lower your blood pressure. You don’t need drugs!
posted by Dana M. Ellis, MPH, R.D. @ 5:09 PM
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