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.
Try finding an ingredients list on a package. It's always on the back, side, or bottom. It's never on the front. Shouldn't it be? That's what you're buying. Not their marketing claims of "all natural" or "heart healthy", which often mean very little and lack government oversight. This is by design. The food companies don't want you thinking about what chemicals are in your food or how much fat, salt, and sugar they are loaded with. They spend millions of dollars lobbying against your best interest and information that could help you be healthier.
The nutrition information of food packaging was created by the FDA, which mandates that food producers put it on their processed foods. This information helps consumers understand what they're eating by providing per serving data of fat, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as fiber, cholesterol and salt/sodium. You may have noticed the percentile information next to each macronutrient or vitamin. It is based off of the government's recommended daily amount. It tells you that the food's serving size represents X% of cholesterol or whatever nutrient you are looking at.
This is based off of a 2,000 calorie diet and only helps you understand what the recommended daily amounts are for this calorie level. If you eat more or less than that, you have to adjust. Many people misunderstand this point and think the percentages represent the fat, carbs, or proteins percentage of the total nutritional value. If you take a 100 calorie meal that has 5g of fat, the product is 45% fat while the RDA % will show only 7%. The smaller the serving size, the more you have to be careful of this issue.
While it is not always perfect, eyeballing the number of ingredients on a package can often help you understand how clean and healthy the food is. If you are going to eat processed foods, typically you will find that the healthier items have fewer ingredients. That being said, you actually need to read the ingredients list because longer lists could be all organic while shorter lists could still have dangerous chemicals or unhealthy ingredients. It's also worth paying attention to the order in which ingredients are listed, which always starts with the biggest contributors down to the smallest.
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."
There is often little oversight on food marketing claims on food labels. Furthermore, the definitions of those claims often have significant loopholes and don't necessarily mean what the average person thinks. A no-sugar product can have sugar in it. All natural can have chemically-created ingredients. It pays to take the time to read and understand what is in your food. Your health depends on it, so read your food labels.
Try finding an ingredients list on a package. It's always on the back, side, or bottom. It's never on the front. Shouldn't it be? That's what you're buying. Not their marketing claims of "all natural" or "heart healthy", which often mean very little and lack government oversight. This is by design. The food companies don't want you thinking about what chemicals are in your food or how much fat, salt, and sugar they are loaded with. They spend millions of dollars lobbying against your best interest and information that could help you be healthier.
The nutrition information of food packaging was created by the FDA, which mandates that food producers put it on their processed foods. This information helps consumers understand what they're eating by providing per serving data of fat, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as fiber, cholesterol and salt/sodium. You may have noticed the percentile information next to each macronutrient or vitamin. It is based off of the government's recommended daily amount. It tells you that the food's serving size represents X% of cholesterol or whatever nutrient you are looking at.
This is based off of a 2,000 calorie diet and only helps you understand what the recommended daily amounts are for this calorie level. If you eat more or less than that, you have to adjust. Many people misunderstand this point and think the percentages represent the fat, carbs, or proteins percentage of the total nutritional value. If you take a 100 calorie meal that has 5g of fat, the product is 45% fat while the RDA % will show only 7%. The smaller the serving size, the more you have to be careful of this issue.
While it is not always perfect, eyeballing the number of ingredients on a package can often help you understand how clean and healthy the food is. If you are going to eat processed foods, typically you will find that the healthier items have fewer ingredients. That being said, you actually need to read the ingredients list because longer lists could be all organic while shorter lists could still have dangerous chemicals or unhealthy ingredients. It's also worth paying attention to the order in which ingredients are listed, which always starts with the biggest contributors down to the smallest.
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."
There is often little oversight on food marketing claims on food labels. Furthermore, the definitions of those claims often have significant loopholes and don't necessarily mean what the average person thinks. A no-sugar product can have sugar in it. All natural can have chemically-created ingredients. It pays to take the time to read and understand what is in your food. Your health depends on it, so read your food labels.
About the Author:
You can learn more at my website Food Labels or my blog at dangerous food additives
0 comments:
Post a Comment