In order to follow a healthy and sensible diet, you must be able to translate nutritional labels from the food you purchase and be able to translate it when you put it on the table. Nutritional labels were created to give consumers the ability to make healthier choices and to help combat the growing epidemic of obesity.
To begin, you should start by looking at both the serving size and the amount of servings per product. This allows you to scale your meals up or down depending on the serving size, and to allow you to correctly monitor your nutrient levels. To understand what you are actually eating, you must understand the serving sizes. If you eat a double serving, you must take care to double the following nutritional information.
The next portion of the nutritional label is the calorie count. Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from one serving of the food plus how many calories came from fat. This can help manage caloric intake to help lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight. Be sure to calculate calories based on the actual serving being consumed.
The next nutrient to be discussed is generally fat. Fat can also have sub-listings underneath it, usually saturated fats, trans fat, and various other fatty acids. Fat content should be limited, regardless of its origin. Avoid products that contain a high level of saturated fats or any trans fats as these fats are extremely bad for you and contribute to heart disease and strokes. Other nutrients which also are best to eat in limited amounts are sodium and cholesterol.
Choose variations of foods with high fiber content and aim to eat from 25 35 grams per day. Fiber helps our digestive process, aids in bowel movement regularity, and also keeps us feeling full for longer. Get more fiber by choosing whole grain products over refined and fruits over sugar-ladled desserts.
Sugar is another nutrient which should be limited as it adds loads of calories to your food usually without any health benefits. Added calories from sugar get stored primarily as fat. Instead of sugar, look for products sweetened with Sucralose, Sucanat, or Stevia to decrease the calories.
The last portion on vitamins and minerals are shown as percentages and are not meant to be tallied, but are merely a reference point to getting a variety in your diet. You will see a percentage beside each corresponding vitamin or mineral which is based on the daily total value. Generally, the range of this daily percentage is based on an average diet of 2,000 calories per day. Reading nutritional labels is not a difficult task and is very helpful in managing your weight.
