On the TWELFTH day of Wellness my blogger gave to me..."a tip on nutrition food labeling"
Today's Tip (Day 12):
"Dashing through the store...but don't forget to read the labels!"
The nutrition facts panel, otherwise known as the "food label", can be tricky to interpret. This New Years make a conscious effort to read EVERY food label that enters your shopping cart. The first time you do this, you may need to plan to spend an extra 30 minutes or perhaps one hour food shopping. But don't fret! Your food detective skills will enhance quickly, and soon you will begin to gravitate towards purchasing healthier foods and your shopping time will shorten. So why not invest a little time up front for a lifetime of good health?One of the first steps to interpreting food labels is looking past misleading manufacturer claims and food logos such as "lowers cholesterol, healthy choice, smart choice, no trans fats or low sodium". Sure these identifiers can be helpful, but they also do not tell the whole nutritional story. For example, the FDA recently announced the new "smart choice" program designed and paid for by the nation's major food manufacturers. The green "smart choice" check mark label is applied to products that meet certain standards for calories and fat grams per serving considered to be "healthy". Although the attempt towards giving consumers an easy way to identify healthier food choices is good, we question how "smart" are sugary cereals such as Kellogg's Fruit Loops, Cocoa Krispies, and Frosted Flakes? Still they proudly display this label as a "smart choice".
What qualifies it as a smart choice? Based on their standards, foods with the "smart choice" check mark can have no more than 12 grams (3 teaspoons) of added sugar per serving. But how many of us eat just one serving (which is usually less than one cup)? I ask you, would you consider it healthy to pour three teaspoons of sugar on your oatmeal for breakfast? EXACTLY! Unfortunately, at this time there is no recommendations from health care professionals on how much added sugar an individual should consumer per day. But that doesn't mean that it is not important to check the ingredients list for added sugars on the food label in order to minimize making a sugary choice!
According to a New York Times article, the "smart choice" program president and dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Eileen T. Kennedy, said "...the Smart Choice program has been influenced by consumer behavior research. This research indicates shoppers want more information, but they do not want to feel their food choices are made for them. Basically, Fruit Loops are a better choice than a doughnut. "
To read the entire New York Times article click here
To minimize making uninformed choices, it's imperative to read food labels for all foods you purchase. In fact, many would look at the calories and fat content first. Although this is important, the ingredients list should be the first component of the food label you start with. If a food contains ingredients that you are trying to limit, why bother reading the rest of the label? There are a handful of ingredients all of us should limit intake of because if consumed regularly they can have a negative impact on our health. In today's society we tend to reach for packaged convenience foods. It's inevitable then that many of us consume alot of the less desirable ingredients since they are often found these packaged foods. That is, if you do not know what you are looking for, or rather not looking for in your ingredients list.
Below are ingredients we should limit or avoid being in our ingredient list:
1) Unbleached white flour
2) Added sugars (ie: high fructose corn syrup; corn syrup)
3) hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
To learn more about reading food labels and other ingredients that should be limited, subscribed to our new Wellness Champion blog. Launching in January, this blog will provide monthly information on nutrition and fitness. Our inaugural year will begin with a three part series called, "Simple Ways To Identify Healthier Choices When Food Shopping".
This series will address minimizing process/packaged foods, the top ingredients NOT to put into your shopping cart, important components of a food label and comparison shopping to identify the healthier options. We hope to help you become a healthier shopper while also being an efficient one. Allow us to take the guess work out of your shopping experience.
We hope you enjoyed the 12 Days of Wellness and we wish you a happy and healthy 2010!
Yours in Wellness
Jeannine and Jen
Posted by Jeannine Capria at Wednesday, December 23. 2009 
Categories: Nutrition and Healthy Eating Habits, Healthcare Industry, Prevention and Wellness
Categories: Nutrition and Healthy Eating Habits, Healthcare Industry, Prevention and Wellness
Added sugars like corn syrup make me feel miserable and zap my body of energy. Over the years I've become less focused on calorie consumption and more focused on ingredients. I'm more concerned with giving my body proper nutrition and avoiding bad ingredients. I'm much slimmer now that I've changed my focus.
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