Nutrition Facts Labels are amazing. They spell out all the basic information needed for people to make responsible food choices. If you are serious about your health and nutrition, you should be looking at the Nutrition Facts of every product that you buy. Although reading these labels isn’t rocket science, I wanted to make a quick post on exactly what you should be looking for when you take those cookies off the shelf to make sure they’re not too bad for you.
1) Serving size: If you misread this part of the label, you’ll misread everything else. Most packaged food items, especially those that are really bad for you, will have multiple serving sizes per container. The label says only 90 calories, but there are 4 servings, which means there are 360 calories in the entire package. This is the first thing you should check.
2) Calories: I’m not a big proponent of counting calories because if you make healthy food choices, calories become much less important. However, if you are looking to lose weight, it’s all a numbers game: Your calories in will need to be less than your calories out. Check the calories, and this will help you determine how many “servings” are acceptable per meal.
3) Fats, cholesterol, sodium: In general, keep these low. However, as I mentioned in my post on Fat, we need an adequate amount of fat in our diets and saturated fat is not harmful as long as you are also consuming a balanced amount of unsaturated fats as well. Avoid trans fat as much as possible- this is the fat that will give you health problems. Also, much like calories, I rarely look at cholesterol. Studies have shown that dietary cholesterol intake has little-to-no effect on the level of cholesterol in the body. If you already have high cholesterol, this is something to watch for, but if you generally make healthy food choices, you won’t have to worry about this part of the label. Read this article and you’ll be smarter. Finally, pay attention to your sodium intake if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. If you lead a healthy, active lifestyle, don’t worry so much- I pay zero attention to the amount of sodium I put into my body.
4) Percent Daily Value: Again, this all comes down to serving size (the percentages are still based on this) and also your personal caloric intake. These numbers are based on a 2000 calorie diet, which is too many calories for some, but too few for others- which means these figures can be quite misleading. If you pay attention to serving size and know exactly what your daily caloric intake should be, you can use these numbers as a guide to how much of the product you should actually be consuming per meal.
5) Fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals: Rule of thumb, you want as much of these things as possible. You really can’t consume too much. Eat a lot of foods that are high in fiber, protein (at least 1 g per pound of body weight daily), vitamins and minerals and your body will function as efficiently as possible.
6) Daily Values: This is basically a guide telling you how much fat, cholesterol, etc. should be consumed daily, based on 2000 and 2500 kcal diets. These can serve as nice little guidelines, but these figures are pretty bunk. We all have different dietary needs based on our current health conditions, activity levels and personal health/fitness goals, so take these numbers with a grain of salt.
7) Although number 7 isn’t specified on the diagram above, I just had to touch on one final point: Carbohydrate and sugar content. As you may have noticed in the link I posted above, sugar and processed unrefined carbs (along with trans fat) are the main culprits responsible for cardiovascular disease and health problems; not saturated fat and dietary cholesterol! As a general rule of thumb, keep your dietary sugar intake as low as possible, and read the ingredients list on the nutrition label as well. The two biggest ingredients to avoid (in my option) are:
High-fructose corn syrup: The number one source of calories in the US diet, and is linked to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Nearly all HFCS is made from genetically-modified corn and often contains traces of mercury as well. Avoid at all costs.
Enriched flours: Otherwise known as Wheat flour or Enriched White flour (if it doesn’t say WHOLE wheat, it’s not whole wheat). The fiber and nutritious germ (along with vitamins and minerals) have been removed in the refining process, then re-added to try and restore nutritional value. Pass.
And Nutrition Facts Labels!
**Bonus tip: Be wary of food that claim to be healthy and use phrases like: “added vitamins and minerals”, “wholesome”, “no added sugar”, “contains real fruit”, “all-natural”, “fat-free”, “low-carb”, “high-protein”, etc. Don’t let the front of the box tell you what it is; use your brain, read the Nutrition Facts Label and ingredients, and make your own educated decision.
Nutrition Facts Labels are helpful and easy to use, but be diligent and look at the proper information. As a general rule of thumb, try to avoid packaged, processed, factory-made “foods” and stick to fresh, natural food options. You’ll notice that these items either have no Nutrition Label at all (fruit, vegetables, meat, etc.) or contain a much friendlier calorie-nutrient ratio than packaged items.
If you have any additional questions on Nutrition Facts Labels, you know how to find me!
-DW
