Food Labels

. Serving size: The amount of food the information refers to.
. Servings per container: The number of servings in the entire product or package.
. Percent daily values: Shows how a food fits into an overall daily diet based on a daily intake of 2,000 calories.
. Calories: The total number of calories in one serving of this food.
. Calories from fat: The total number of calories from fat in one serving of this food.
. Total fat: The weight of fat (in grams) in one serving of this food.
. Saturated fat: The weight of saturated fat (in grams) in one serving of this food.
. Sodium: The weight of sodium (in milligrams) in one serving of this food.
. Protein: The weight of protein (in grams) in one serving of this food.
. Total carbohydrates: The weight of both complex and simple carbohydrates (in grams) in one serving of this food.
. Sugars: The weight of simple carbohydrates (in grams) in one serving of this food; to find out how many complex carbohydrates are in the food simply subtract sugars from total carbohydrates.

After you have a clear understanding of the key label words, there are other important values you will want to consider before concluding that the food product is a healthy, low-fat food.

1. Check the List of Ingredients.
Ingredients are listed in descending order according to their quantity in that food. The first three or four ingredients listed usually make up most of the product. Keep in mind, however, that fat and sugar come in many different forms; even if they are not one of the first three ingredients, the food can still be very high in fat and/or sugar. Other "names" of fat include hydrogenated vegetable shortening, butter, margarine, oil (coconut, safflower, palm, etc.), lecithin, lard, and cream solids. Other names of sugars include fructose, honey, corn sweeteners, molasses, maltose, corn syrup, fructose, galactose, glucose, and dextrose. If only one of these names appears among the first few ingredients on the label, or if several of them are listed throughout the label, this food is likely to be high in fat or sugar.

2. Pay Attention to Total Fat and Saturated Fat.
When checking the label of a food, always check the line that reads "total fat." Most experts believe you should get no more than 30 percent of total daily calories from fat. Before purchasing any food, check the total fat to see if that product fits into your eating plan. Right below the "total fat" line is "saturated fat." Again, you want this number to be very low, since this type of fat is linked to obesity and heart disease. No more than 10 percent of your calories should come from saturated fats. For the average person, this is between 7-10 grams a day.

To calculate the fat percentage of the food: a) Multiply the number of grams of fat by the number 9 (9 calories per gram of fat). b) Divide this number by the total calories per serving. c) The result is the percentage of fat calories (should be less than 30).

3. Pay Attention to Serving Size.
When you see that your favorite frozen yogurt only has 4 grams of fat per serving, be sure to check the serving size. The FDA has decided that a single serving of yogurt is only 1/2 cup. Most people eat at least 1 1/2 cups of their favorite yogurt or ice cream and thus in this example you eat 12 grams of fat. Before you buy any food, multiply a realistic serving size times the total grams of fat. If the food comes up high in fat, you may want to either limit the serving size or purchase something else.

4. Pay Attention to Fiber.
Move down the label until you come to "dietary fiber." Fiber is very beneficial to the human diet. A diet rich in fiber promotes fat loss when these high-fiber foods replace fats and sweets. This is possible because fibrous foods offer fewer calories per gram (4 calories/gram) than fat (9 calories/gram) are not easily converted to fat, and have the ability to expand up to 10 times their weight and size in the stomach. Thus, fiber makes us feel fuller and satisfied for a longer time. Fiber can give you an edge on weight management not only by satisfying your appetite, but also by slowing down calorie absorption and sustaining your energy levels. In addition, a high-fiber diet helps prevent hemorrhoids, diarrhea, appendicitis, and colon cancer. Fiber also helps lower cholesterol levels, decreasing the risk of heart disease. Most experts recommend that you get at least 25-30 grams of fiber a day. Therefore, when reading labels, remember, higher is always better.

In addition to having a clear understanding of a product's nutrition label, you should also understand exactly what the different health claims on products mean. The following is a list of health claims that are often misinterpreted by consumers:

. Free: Example: fat-free. This means that the food product has so little of the nutrient in it that it would not even show up on your dietary screen (usually less than .5 gram/serving).
. Low: Example: low-calorie or low-fat. This means that the food product does not have much of a certain nutrient, but it has enough to make a difference in your diet. Specifically, low-fat means 3 grams or less of total fat; low-saturated fat means one gram or less; low-cholesterol means less than 20 milligrams; and low-calorie means 40 calories or fewer per serving.
. Lean: This term refers to meat. Lean means one serving has less than 10 grams of total fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, and 95 milligrams of cholesterol. . Extra lean: This term also refers to meat. This means that one serving has less than 5 grams of total fat and 2 grams of saturated fat.
. Less: This means there is 25 percent less of a certain ingredient or nutrient as compared to a similar product.
. Reduced: This means the product was nutritionally altered to meet a health claim.

Source:Chad Tackett - Global Health and Fitness