The most important skill for good nutrition is knowing what is in your food. The information we need is provided on the nutrition facts label. Below are some tips to get you started in improving your food knowledge! Challenge yourself this week to read labels and using them to help you make good food choices.
Serving Size
The nutrition label always lists a serving size, which is an amount of food, such as 1 cup of cereal, two cookies, or five crackers. The serving size will be listed in a familiar unit and then the equivalent in the grams will be located in parentheses. (For example, the serving size on this label is 2 crackers which equals 14 gms and there are 42 crackers in the box) The percentage Daily Value is based on intake of 2000 calorie diet. For many individuals however, a 2000 calorie diet would be too many calories. Most active adults need between 1500-1800 calories per day whereas inactive adults need 1100-1500 calories per day. The serving size is not standardized and will vary according to the company. Be careful! Many items are packaged as single serving but the serving size is half a serving. In addition, the actual serving size may be far less than you are usually used to eating. A good example of this is peanut butter. A serving size of peanut butter is 2 tablespoons which is 190 calories.
Servings per Container or Package
The label also tells you how many servings are contained in that package of food. As demonstrated in this example, there are 21 servings in this box of crackers and each serving is 2 crackers. Make sure that you calculate the serving size correctly. Take for instance, a 20 ounce soda. The serving size per container is 2.5 servings. To correctly figure out the calories, you have to multiply the serving size by the actual amount consumed. (For example, if you had six crackers from our example box, you would have eaten 180 calories). The number of calories consumed therefore depends on the number of servings eaten.
Calories and Calories From Fat
The number of calories in a single serving of the food is listed on the left side of the food label. This number tells you the amount of energy (a calorie is the amount of heat that is generated by metabolizing food) in the food. This heat or energy is what we need to power our bodies. It is very important to pay attention to the calories because if you eat more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight. Our bodies are finely tuned machines. The amount of calories one needs is dependent on the metabolic demands of the body (the energy needed to perform ones bodily functions) plus the physical demands from physical activity.
Another important part of the label is the number of calories that come from fat. The calories in a food can come from fat, protein, or carbohydrate. One pound is equal to 3500 calories. One gram of protein is 4 calories, one gram of carbohydrates is 4 calories and one gram of fat is 9 calories. In our example above, 2 cookies are 60 calories, and 15 (25%) of those calories are fat calories.
Certain fats are worse than others. Saturated and trans fats are the worst for our health. A limited amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are necessary for proper body functions and production of the body’s hormones. For good health, one should consume less than 30% of their calories from fat calories. Therefore, if one is on a 1500 calorie diet, then number of fat calories should be less than 450 calories or 50 gms of fat. In our example above, the fats in these crackers are unsaturated fat.
Total Carbohydrate
This amount covers several types of carbohydrates, including fiber and sugar. Simple carbohydrates are simple sugars (simple molecules) whereas complex carbohydrates (longer chain molecules) are grains and fiber. The best sources of complex carbohydrates are fruits and vegetables, along with whole-grain foods like whole grain non sugary cereals (all bran, real oatmeal etc), whole grain breads, and whole-wheat pasta. You can tell if a food is a more complex carbohydrate if the sugar and sugar alcohol content is low and the fiber content is high. In our example, the crackers have 10 grams of carbohydrates and no grams of sugar. Therefore these crackers are all complex carbohydrates with no simple sugars.
Sugars are found in most foods. Soda, snack foods and other foods that are high in added sugar are considered “empty calories” because they usually don't offer a lot of other nutrients and cause a quick rise in our blood sugar levels.
Checking sugar quantities on labels can be really eye opening. Often there's way more than you'd expect. For example, sometimes manufacturers cut back on fat but add sugar to keep a food tasting good. By becoming label-savvy, you may notice that some low-fat foods have nearly as many calories as their regular versions. Key lesson here is that low-fat does not necessarily translate into low-calorie.
Fiber
Fiber, another kind of carbohydrate, helps keep your digestive system healthy. Fiber can also help reduce cholesterol levels and lower risk for colon cancer. Best of all, fiber can help you feel full because it slows gastric emptying. Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains are wonderful fiber sources. Check the label and pick foods that have at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. Shoot for 24 gms of fiber a day!
Protein
Most of the body — including muscles, skin, and the immune system — is made up of protein. Our bodies cannot make the amino acids that are the building blocks for protein so we have to get them from the foods we eat. Protein is particularly satiating and also slows gastric emptying making one feel full longer. Look for protein sources that are low in fat, for example, fish, lean pork (pork tenderloin for example), chicken, turkey, tofu, beans and low fat cheese (particularly cottage cheese).
Percent Daily Value
You'll see percentages on food labels that are based on recommended daily allowances - meaning the amount of something a person should get each day. For instance, there's a recommended daily allowance for fat, so the food label might say that one serving of this food meets 10% of the daily value. The daily values are based on an adult's needs, and for most adults, a 2000 calorie diet would be excessive for most sedentary individuals. Some percent daily values are based on the amount of calories and energy a person needs. These include carbohydrates, proteins, and fat. Other percent daily values - like those for sodium, potassium, vitamins, and minerals - stay the same no matter how many calories a person eats.
Cholesterol and Sodium
These numbers tell you how much cholesterol and sodium (salt) are in a single serving of the food. Cholesterol and sodium are measured in milligrams.
About Tidewater Bariatrics
Tidewater Bariatrics in Chesapeake, Virginia, specializes in the medical treatment
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Dr. Margaret Gaglione contact
757-644-6819, doctor@twb4u.com
