What is in that pie?
Watching what we eat has become important since manufacturers have begun to use more additives to their products, changing things such as sodium content in food. Reading food labels is essential to understanding what we're really eating, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn't mandate labels to be written in a language that laypeople necessarily understand. How is the standard food shopper supposed to understand the actual nutritional value of grocery store food?
Instructions
1. Determine the serving size. The serving size can be found on the top of the food chart, and this number is the basis of all numbers throughout the chart. For example, if the serving size on a box of cookies is three, and six cookies are consumed, all numbers on the chart need to be multiplied by two.
2. Compare the nutrient list to personal needs. For a weight watcher, the most important part of the list is the fat content. Some fat is needed in a normal diet, so a food label will break fats into categories for consumers to determine how much of each fat they're eating. Saturated and unsaturated fat differ in their molecular chains; healthy fat is unsaturated and consumers should strive for this type of fat in their diets. An anemic individual is interested in the iron count of a product. Reading the food chart includes understanding the individual needs of the consumer.
3. Check the percent of daily values. These are the percentages found next to each nutrient or ingredient. The percentage of most products is based on a 2,000-calorie diet. If your specific diet calls for more or less calories, the percentage will be affected. Some labels include percentages for a 2,500-calorie diet.
4. Check the ingredient list. A healthy product doesn't list sugars, salt, non-whole-grain carbohydrates, or saturated fats in the first four ingredients. Watch words on the front of the package such as "healthy" or "multigrain." These words can be used with products which aren't completely true to the word. Search for words including "100 percent." This term is the key to buying an honest product. When searching for a healthy product, look for low sodium contents, unsaturated over saturated fats, lower calorie counts, and any specific personal dietary needs.
Tags: serving size, food chart, healthy product, Reading food, saturated fats