To achieve and maintain good health, educate yourself about nutrition fact labels and use them regularly when shopping. They provide valuable information that will help you make wise food choices. When guessing and estimating just aren't getting the job done, let the facts speak for themselves. Arm yourselves with the valuable information you need to stay on track and make good health a priority in your home.
No other information on your nutrition fact label will be as important as the serving size and the number of servings per container! If you get this information incorrect, every other piece of information will be inaccurate as well. Always know how much you are consuming!
Your food label will also provide the total calories and the number of calories from fat. It takes 3500 calories to equal a pound. In order to reach and then maintain your ideal weight, you must expend more calories than you consume. Remember that everything is listed per serving on the label; therefore you may have to double your calories if you eat two servings.
Nutrition numbers are the next piece of information provided. These include total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, total carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, cholesterol, and sodium. Sometimes you will see monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as well. Even though manufacturers are not required to do so, many also include potassium, vitamins, and minerals on their labels.
The food label is designed to make it easy to understand. Notice that the first several nutrients are the ones that you want to limit in your diet. Eating too much of these may increase your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and certain cancers. So go easy on foods high in fats, cholesterol, and sodium. Get plenty of the nutrients listed next. Fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron can all help improve your general health and reduce the risk of some conditions.
A footnote is included on the bottom of many nutrition fact labels. Depending on the size of the label, some footnotes provide more information than others. Basically, the footnote teaches us that the recommended dietary amounts for all Americans are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. This is standard information that does not change according to the food item.
The Percent Daily Value, or %DV, makes it very easy for us to make sure we consume 100% of our total nutrients. This percentage computes how much of each nutrient one serving provides. You don't have to eat 2,000 calories each day to benefit from this calculation.
You will notice that trans fat, protein, and sugars do not have %DV. Research links trans fat to high LDL cholesterol levels and should be avoided! %DV only has to be listed for protein if the product claims to be "high in protein" or if the product is for children under the age of four, and there is no daily recommended amount for sugar. Keep in mind that sugar has many synonyms, such as sucrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, honey, syrup, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, or fruit juice.
Nutrition fact labels should be utilized whenever they are available. But what is one to do when they are not? A special food scale such as the Eat Smart Nutrition Scale would be an important addition to your wellness arsenal. This "food guidance system" provides the essential nutrients per measured portion for over 999 foods, just by entering a three-digit code. This extensive nutritional database makes it not only possible, but also easy to make wise food choices that will move you closer to achieving a healthy lifestyle.
About the Author:
Gail M. Davis provides an simple guide to understanding and utilizing nutrition fact labels and much more on her site, Easy Weight Loss Tips. Check out the Eat Smart Scale to make wise food choices.
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