Some studies have shown that only 60% or so of Americans read the Nutrition Facts panel on food packaging and only 50% read ingredient lists. Reading food labels and ingredients lists and understanding how to interpret the information is key to making healthy food choices, and something Americans obviously need to do a better job of, given that roughly 35% of the U.S. adult population is estimated to be obese.
Food companies don't make it easy to find out what's in their food. They uses the smallest type possible. They don't want you to know how unhealthy their product is or what unpronounceable chemicals you're eating. The powerful food lobby spends a great deal of money keeping transparency to a minimum and your focus on the front of the package where they make marketing claims that often lack oversight or don't mean what you think they mean.
The Nutrition Facts panel, which was designed and is required by the FDA, informs consumers about serving sizes and provides per serving information on calories, a variety of fats, sodium, cholesterol, carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. It also shows the serving size's percentage of said nutrient that is recommended for daily intake. Always check serving sizes to see if they are reasonable compared to what you are actually going to eat. 100 calories or 5g of fat may seem fair, but if you are going to eat seven servings, it's not a realistic measure and is misleading.
The percentages you see of fat, carbs, and proteins are relative to a 2,000 calorie diet. It does not tell the breakdown of these nutrients as a percentage of the whole item. A hotdog may show the fat content of 8g as 12% of the recommended daily value of fat intake, however, if you do the math, those 72 fat calories make up 65% of the total 110 calories. Very misleading if you don't understand what those numbers are measuring.
There are a few things to consider when reading food labels and ingredient lists. First, ingredients are listed in size order from largest to smallest. Sugar listed first can be significantly different than if it's listed last. Also, the fewer the ingredients, usually is better, but not always. You still have to read the list to see what's there and assess each ingredient.
Based on the massive amounts of chemical additives in our food supply, there's a good chance you're not familiar with a wide variety of the ingredients in today's processed foods. I ask two questions when this happens. First, do I need my high school chemistry book? Second, would I use this if I was cooking from scratch? If you answer yes and no, respectively, it's probably best to avoid. I don't think Grandma ever tasted her gumbo or pasta sauce and said, "This could use some sodium benzoate, disodium chloride, and aspartame."
I recommend completely disregarding marketing claims on the front of the package. Go directly to the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient lists. If you are going to use label marketing claims (which have so many loopholes, they're virtually useless), I suggest using them as a starting point for further investigation. It also helps to know what claims are regulated and which aren't as well as what they actually mean. They are often misleading. Did you know there can be fat in a no-fat product? These marketing claims are not what they seem. If you're going to eat processed foods, make them as clean as possible. To do that, you have to read your food ingredient labels.
Food companies don't make it easy to find out what's in their food. They uses the smallest type possible. They don't want you to know how unhealthy their product is or what unpronounceable chemicals you're eating. The powerful food lobby spends a great deal of money keeping transparency to a minimum and your focus on the front of the package where they make marketing claims that often lack oversight or don't mean what you think they mean.
The Nutrition Facts panel, which was designed and is required by the FDA, informs consumers about serving sizes and provides per serving information on calories, a variety of fats, sodium, cholesterol, carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. It also shows the serving size's percentage of said nutrient that is recommended for daily intake. Always check serving sizes to see if they are reasonable compared to what you are actually going to eat. 100 calories or 5g of fat may seem fair, but if you are going to eat seven servings, it's not a realistic measure and is misleading.
The percentages you see of fat, carbs, and proteins are relative to a 2,000 calorie diet. It does not tell the breakdown of these nutrients as a percentage of the whole item. A hotdog may show the fat content of 8g as 12% of the recommended daily value of fat intake, however, if you do the math, those 72 fat calories make up 65% of the total 110 calories. Very misleading if you don't understand what those numbers are measuring.
There are a few things to consider when reading food labels and ingredient lists. First, ingredients are listed in size order from largest to smallest. Sugar listed first can be significantly different than if it's listed last. Also, the fewer the ingredients, usually is better, but not always. You still have to read the list to see what's there and assess each ingredient.
Based on the massive amounts of chemical additives in our food supply, there's a good chance you're not familiar with a wide variety of the ingredients in today's processed foods. I ask two questions when this happens. First, do I need my high school chemistry book? Second, would I use this if I was cooking from scratch? If you answer yes and no, respectively, it's probably best to avoid. I don't think Grandma ever tasted her gumbo or pasta sauce and said, "This could use some sodium benzoate, disodium chloride, and aspartame."
I recommend completely disregarding marketing claims on the front of the package. Go directly to the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient lists. If you are going to use label marketing claims (which have so many loopholes, they're virtually useless), I suggest using them as a starting point for further investigation. It also helps to know what claims are regulated and which aren't as well as what they actually mean. They are often misleading. Did you know there can be fat in a no-fat product? These marketing claims are not what they seem. If you're going to eat processed foods, make them as clean as possible. To do that, you have to read your food ingredient labels.
About the Author:
You can learn more at my website Food Labels or my blog at Food additives to avoid
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