Nutrition For Life

When you’re shopping in the grocery store, you may notice that food packages are always labeled with the latest buzz words. When the new food guide pyramid touted the importance of whole grains for example, suddenly words and logos for “whole grains” plastered the fronts of cereal boxes, crackers, breads and even cookies! Now with the media’s attention on the harmful effects of trans fats, many food manufacturers are trying to draw your attention to the fact that their product is free of trans fats. No matter what the fad is—low-carb, fat-free, organic, or heart-healthy—manufacturers will try to lure you into buying their product. But, while food manufacturers can’t lie to you about the nutrition and ingredients of their products, they can easily mislead you into thinking something is healthier than it really is.

Reading and understanding a nutrition label doesn’t require a degree in nutrition, but it does require that you look beyond the fancy claims on the front of the box. If you know how to read between the lines of the marketing spin, you too can know how to make the most nutritious choices without having to read the fine print.

By law, food labels must be truthful. But manufactures can pick and choose which facts to highlight and spin. As a consumer, your best option is to disregard the claims on the front of the package because, while they may be true, it may not tell you the whole story.

Here’s a list of the most popular food package claims used by food manufacturers—and what they really mean for you and your health. Read more…

What do you look for when you’re checking out the nutrition facts on that macaroni and cheese box? Whether you’re one to zoom in on total calories or total carbs, you might be missing the real picture. Nutrition facts should be a part of your decision in what to eat or even what to buy. But interpreting the facts requires a bit of know-how, so make sure you aren’t misleading yourself.

“Understand the Power of “Serving Size”

The most important rule is to know your serving size and the number of servings in the package or can. If the label says “one cup” per serving size and “two servings per container,” that means there are two cups in the whole package. If you know you’ll eat the whole package by yourself, you are going to consume two cups (1 cup x 2 servings/container = 2 cups). That means that you must double all the nutrition facts measurements to know your total intake of each nutrient - the good and the bad. Using the mac and cheese example, eating the whole package means you will have consumed 500 calories, 220 of which are from fat. You will have consumed 24 grams of fat, of which 6 grams are saturated fat. Read more…