Are you trying to eat healthier? Have you attempted to decipher food labels to help you make better choices? Here are three easy steps to help you make sense of the Nutrition Facts Food Label and quickly decide which food item is healthier.
Check the Ingredients – The ingredients will be listed below the label and in the order of the amount used in the product. If the primary ingredient in the product is wheat, then that will be listed first. Look for ingredients that you recognize, particularly “whole grain”. If the list is full of chemical names that you can’t pronounce then this is a red flag that the item is full of preservatives, additives, coloring, flavoring, etc; in other words foods not found in nature. You also want to be on the look-out for the many disguises of sugar. It might be listed as high fructose corn syrup, corn sweetener, dehydrated cane juice, dextrin, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, honey, lactose, rice syrup, maltodextrin, maltose (basically anything ending in –ose). Scan the list for hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. These are trans fats that are best to be avoided in your diet as much as possible.
Apply the 5 / 20 Rule – All those grams per serving can be confusing to interpret. An easier way is to use % Daily Value. The rule is that anything listed as 5% or less is considered “Low” and anything listed as 20% or higher is considered “High”. This trick can help you quickly decide whether the item is low in fat, low in sodium or high in fiber; hallmarks of a healthier food choice.
Evaluate the Serving Size – The final piece of information that needs analyzing is the serving size. It’s important to keep in mind that the serving size is often smaller than the whole bag, package or can and it varies among different food products. In the example to the left the serving size is only ½ cup and there are 4 in the entire container. If you were to eat the entire item you would need to multiply all the calorie and nutrient information by 4; consuming a total of 360 calories, 12 g of fat, and 1200 mg of sodium from that food choice.
Nutrition Consultations are available at Synergy+ with Dionne Detraz, RD.
Contact Dionne directly to schedule an appointment at 415-250-0567 or dionnedetraz@comcast.net.