Food Labels
In order to guarantee if a food is healthy or unhealthy, one must consult the products' food label. Food labels reveal the truth behind the foods that you are putting into your body. On food labels, brands are not able to hide the truth...all those excess sugars and unhealthy trans fats are revealed on the food label. However, reading a food label can be daunting so below is a simple process that will help you read and comprehend a food label.
Step One - Serving Size
Serving size allows the consumer to understand just how many servings a product contains. Many items have multiple servings per container, therefore, the information that follows is only for one serving of the product, not the entire container. Therefore, you must think to yourself, how many servings of this item will I be consuming, as most of the time individuals consumer more than just one serving without realizing it.
Step two - Calories
Calories correlate to the amount of energy you are getting from eating that specific food. This section helps individuals account for their daily caloric intake & therefore, their weight. However, many individuals consumer more calories than are needed in a day, leading to an unhealthy weight.
For reference:
40 Calories is Low --> A Snacks
100 Calories is Moderate --> A Snack
400 Calories is High --> A Meal
Additionally, calories coming from fat is important to look at. For every gram of fat in a food, that corresponds to 9 calories. In this example above, almost half of the calories in that product come from fat! This fat is tougher for your metabolism to burn, therefore, it is more likely to be stored as excess fat on the body!
For reference:
40 Calories is Low --> A Snacks
100 Calories is Moderate --> A Snack
400 Calories is High --> A Meal
Additionally, calories coming from fat is important to look at. For every gram of fat in a food, that corresponds to 9 calories. In this example above, almost half of the calories in that product come from fat! This fat is tougher for your metabolism to burn, therefore, it is more likely to be stored as excess fat on the body!
Step Three - The Limiting Nutrients
Americans usually eat way too many of these three nutrients: Fats, Cholesterol, & Sodium. Eating too much of any of these three nutrients can increase your risk of certain chronic diseases such as heart disease, some cancers, or high blood sugar.
Fats: Although eating too much fat can lead to obesity, fat is an important energy source for the body. Fats contain twice the amount of energy than proteins & carbohydrates.
Out of Individuals Daily Caloric Intake:
30% (65 grams) Should be from Normal Fats
Less than 10% (20 grams) Should come from Saturated Fats
Less than 1% Should come from Trans Fats
Saturated & Trans fats raise cholesterol and increase a person's risk for developing heart disease. As these fats clog arteries, large veins that carry blood throughout the body, which in turn constricts blood flow. This constriction is what could develop into certain heart diseases.
Sodium: A small amount of Sodium, a component of salt, is required to maintain proper body fluid balance. Too little or too much could alter the balance, leading to cells becoming either severely dehydrated or over-hydrated. Almost all foods naturally contain a small amount of sodium, however, many processed foods contain greater amounts.
Cholesterol: A small amount of Cholesterol is important, as it produces vitamin D, some hormones, and builds many other important substances in the body. However, as stated before, too much Cholesterol can lead to a blockage of the arteries and development of heart diseases.
Fats: Although eating too much fat can lead to obesity, fat is an important energy source for the body. Fats contain twice the amount of energy than proteins & carbohydrates.
Out of Individuals Daily Caloric Intake:
30% (65 grams) Should be from Normal Fats
Less than 10% (20 grams) Should come from Saturated Fats
Less than 1% Should come from Trans Fats
Saturated & Trans fats raise cholesterol and increase a person's risk for developing heart disease. As these fats clog arteries, large veins that carry blood throughout the body, which in turn constricts blood flow. This constriction is what could develop into certain heart diseases.
Sodium: A small amount of Sodium, a component of salt, is required to maintain proper body fluid balance. Too little or too much could alter the balance, leading to cells becoming either severely dehydrated or over-hydrated. Almost all foods naturally contain a small amount of sodium, however, many processed foods contain greater amounts.
Cholesterol: A small amount of Cholesterol is important, as it produces vitamin D, some hormones, and builds many other important substances in the body. However, as stated before, too much Cholesterol can lead to a blockage of the arteries and development of heart diseases.
Step 4 - The Other Nutrients
These nutrients are great for the body. Eating a diet rich in these nutrients can improve your health and reduce your risk of developing certain diseases.
Foods Containing:
Less than 5% Of that nutrient is considered Low
More than 20% Of that nutrient is considered High
Foods Containing:
Less than 5% Of that nutrient is considered Low
More than 20% Of that nutrient is considered High
Step 5 - Daily Values
This is almost a little cheat sheet for when you are shopping. The Footnote tells the consumer how much they should be eating in a day, for example, you should be eating less than 65 grams of Total Fat in a day, based off a 2000 calories per day diet. Listed on each food label, the product shows will tell consumer the percentage of which their daily intake will increase by consuming that specific product.
Below in purple, the percentage of daily value is listed.
For example, if you were to eat one serving of this product, you would be consuming 18% of your daily allotted amount of Fat.
Step 6 - The Red Flags
In addition to looking at the percentage of daily values, the consumer should read the ingredients listed in the product.
Tips for Reading Ingredients List:
The shorter the food label, the better.
If the consumer can not properly pronounce the ingredients listed, a red flag should be raised,
and it probably should not be going into their body.
Ingredient labels start with the largest amount first, so you want that to be a real, whole food.
Anything on the label that reads color: blue, green, red...
is an artificial dye, that should be avoided.
Instead of blatantly writing sugar, companies write: sugar alcohol, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, sucrose...
all of which are added sugars.
Anything with Palm Oil can sit on the shelves of the supermarket for years and never go stale...
a product that should not be eaten.
According to FDA.gov