Food Labels 101

Let's be honest, we all know the benefits of fruits and vegetables in our diets. However, many of us prefer to shop for processed foods at the grocery store. Processed foods are foods that have been altered in any way during preparation. That can include cookies, ketchup, croutons, salsa, and frozen vegetables. Health nuts give people a hard time about consuming processed foods. Sometimes, it is just easier to buy a jar of spaghetti sauce, than to buy the natural ingredients to make it ourselves. Homemade is healthier and taste better, but many of us have busy schedules which makes time pressing. If you turn over any product that is processed, you will see a food label attached to it. But how many of us really use it?

Quick History:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiated nutritional labeling in 1973. In 1990, the Nutrition Labeling & Education Act was passed that required that almost all multiple-ingredient foods and supplements are labeled with nutritional facts. That's why you don't see labels on your fresh meat and produce.

The purpose of nutritional labels are to give consumers an easy way to see what our food is made of, how much of it we are consuming, and helps us makes decisions for our health. The nutrition label has changed constantly over the years, and it's mission is to help us make intentional choices. They are definitely made for our benefit!

Quick Lesson: Food Labels 101 is in session!

This is an image from the FDA's website of the most updated nutritional label. It is based on a daily 2,000 calorie diet.

1. Serving Size: The FDA made this part of the food label very noticeable! It's great because the font use to blend in with the rest of the nutritional facts, which could easily be overlooked. The serving size is the typical amount that people eat of that product a day. The serving size per container is how many servings of it is IN the container. If you eat that whole can of biscuits, that is 8 servings not 1! Keep that in mind for the next part.

2. Calories: The calories part is big as day, because the FDA said they want to make sure that you are not bamboozled about the amount of calories that you have eaten from this one product. Ok! Here is the fun part. One serving is 2/3 cup which is 230 calories. Before I got into nutritional labeling, naively I thought that the whole item was 230 calories. However, it is clear that it says "amount per serving". Therefore, if you eat this whole frozen pot pie dinner, that is 230 MUTIPLIED by 8. That equals to 1,840 calories which is almost your whole calorie intake from one meal. At that point, you only have room in your stomach for a good snack.

3. Daily Values: I absolutely love number 3 because it gives you the percent Daily Value (% DV). A % DV is the percentage of the nutrients from that product you have consumed. There's no calculating or guessing required. It is clear as day the percentage of what you've eaten from a product on a daily basis. A rule of thumb is if the percentage is 5 or less, it is low. If it is 20% or more it is high. For example, everything in that product from the saturated fat, sodium and carbs are either low or moderate until you get to the added sugars. Please listen!! for those of you who don't know, added sugars are not our besties. It's nothing wrong with sugar occasionally, but be very careful. If you are diabetic or even prediabetic watch out for added sugars. One of the main things my doctor recommended during treatment of LPP was removing added sugars from my diet. Added sugars contribute to so many chronic illnesses, increases inflammation and weight gain. That includes cocktails too. That was my quick Ted Talk, but I digress.

One other important thing to know about the nutrition facts is if you consume the whole product, you also need to multiply that number by the amount of servings per container. For example, if one serving is 37g of carbs, 8 servings are 296g which is beyond ridiculous. If you're watching your weight or sugar control, that is important to know.

4. Nutrients: On the old food label, calories from fat were mentioned along with vitamins A and C. Calories from fat were taken off, because all fat is not bad. (i.e. avocados, nuts, fatty fish, etc.) What's more important now is the TYPE of fat. That's why saturated and trans fat are mentioned as a heads up. You definitely want a small amount of those (remember under 5% is considered low) Vitamins A and C were removed because people can easily consume it from many food sources, and it is not considered a deficiency. According to the FDA, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium are major deficiencies in the American diet. The label helps give us a clear picture of the daily amount consumed.

5. Extra Tips: Ingredients: Even though it's not listed on this food label, the ingredients list is so important! The first ingredient mentioned on the food label is the bulk of that product. For example: if a product says water, beans, and salt, the bulk of it is water. That's important to know, because if the first ingredient is maple syrup, then you know it might not be the best choice.

Quick Examples: Real Life Scenarios

The item on the left is a pork sausage, egg and cheese Jimmy Dean Croissant. The item on the right is a turkey sausage, egg white and cheese Jimmy Dean Delights Croissant. Both products contain four breakfast sandwiches. As a consumer, I would initially think the turkey croissant would be healthier based on the type of meat and egg whites.

1. Servings: The serving size is the same, with four servings per container Did you notice that the size of the sandwiches were different? The pork is 128g and the turkey is 136g. Let's keep that in mind.

2. Calories: The pork croissant is 400 calories, while the turkey is 290. Based on this alone and the grams of each sandwich, the turkey already seems like a better choice. Also, because the serving size measures per sandwich, you don't have to multiply anything unless you're eating multiple servings.

3. Daily Values: Excuse my language but the fat and sodium content is high AF on both of these! Over 20% is high, so 50% for the first sandwich is insane! Trans fat is no bueno. Processed meats typically have a lot of sodium (salt). Diets high in sodium can lead to chronic illnesses like high blood pressure or Hypernatremia (extreme thirst) which can ultimately lead to problems with your kidneys, especially if you don't drink enough water. However, the high percentage of protein is not necessarily a bad thing. It's all about balance! The added sugars are a little moderate, but not ridiculous. Personally, I aim for items that have 0% added sugars.

4. Nutrients: The pork sandwich surprisingly provides more calcium and iron. However, the turkey provides more potassium. Ultimately, neither give a sufficient amount of nutrients.

5. Ingredients: For both products, I only captured the ingredients in the croissant, but they both contain a substantial amount of enriched bleach flour. Water comes second in the ingredients in the croissant. In the third ingredient it shows the difference between the two. The first contains vegetable oil and the other contains margarine.

The take away is neither one of these breakfast sandwiches are healthy, but the turkey croissant is the better choice.

Quick Summary: Exit Ticket

If you're still wondering why this is important, it's simple. If you're calorie counting, have weight loss and diet goals, or even give 2 cents about your health, you need to use the nutritional label when making decisions when planning meals. There are actually processed foods out there with decent benefits. However, don't assume that because a food "appears" healthy, that it is. Many vegan faux meat is highly processed, and horrible for the body. My take away is to include a diet rich with fruits and vegetables, but if you have to buy processed foods, use food labels to make the best decisions. Check out this slide to see if you can locate which choices are better according to the food label.

Comment below about what you noticed about these product labels or the experience you've had with using nutritional labels. Did I sound like a Registered Dietitian today? It kind of felt like it ;)

Nutritionally & Zealously,

Gia

"If you prioritize yourself, you are going to save yourself."

-Gabrielle Union

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