Want to make smart food choices but confused by all the health claims, messages and logos on foods? Use five these tips to avoid the brain strain while shopping online or in-person at the store.
• Read food nutrition labels, even for so-called “healthier” foods. Ingredients and nutrient content can vary a lot by brand and preparation. When there’s more than one choice, compare labels. Choose the item with the lowest amounts of sodium, saturated fat, trans fat and added sugars.
• Beware of sneaky ingredients. For example, sodium and added sugars go by many different names, making it harder to tell just how much is in there.
• Choose frozen, canned or dried produce when fresh isn’t available or practical. It can be just as nutritious as fresh, and will last longer. Choose canned fruit packed in water, light syrup or its own juice. With canned and frozen vegetables, choose the product with the lowest amount of sodium. Heavy syrups and sauces can add unwanted ingredients to your healthy fruits and veggies.
• Choose whole-grain foods. Lots of products claim to be, but there’s a simple way to know for sure. Look for the word “whole-grain” (or “whole” followed by the grain name) as the first item in the ingredients list. And we’re talking more than just bread. Include crackers, cereals, tortillas, pasta and other grain foods in your whole-grain quest.
• Look for the Heart-Check mark to quickly and easily identify foods that can be part of an overall healthy eating plan. When it’s on the label, you know the product has been certified by the American Heart Association to meet specific science-based nutrition requirements. The Heart-Check is easy to spot and takes some of the guesswork out of comparing Nutrition Facts label information.
Understanding Food Nutrition Labels
The Nutrition Facts label can help you make healthier eating choices and identify nutrient-dense foods for a healthy diet. Here are some tips to better understand the information on these labels.
Learn what to look for on the label.
1. Start with the serving information. This tells the size of a single serving and the total number of servings per container. The serving size reflects the amount people typically eat or drink.
2. Check total calories per serving and container. Notice how many calories are contained in one serving. Compare this to the number of servings you eat. If you eat two servings, you double the calories and nutrients.
The next sections on a Nutrition Facts label are about the amounts of specific nutrients in the product.
3. Limit certain nutrients. Check key nutrients and understand what you’re looking for.
• Focus on the amount of saturated and trans fats rather than the amount of total fats. Not all fats are bad.
• Avoid trans fat. When the Nutrition Facts label lists “0 g” of trans fat but includes “partially hydrogenated oil” in the ingredient list, it means the food contains some trans fat, but less than 0.5 grams per serving. So, if you eat more than one serving, you could end up eating too much trans fat.
• Total sugars include both natural and added sugars.
• Limit the amounts of added sugars, saturated fat and sodium you eat.
• Compare labels on different brands or similar products and choose foods with less of these nutrients when possible.
4. Get enough of the beneficial nutrients. Make sure you get enough of the nutrients your body needs, such as calcium, dietary fiber, iron, potassium and vitamin D.*
Dietary fiber may help reduce blood cholesterol levels, promote a feeling of fullness, and support healthy weight management. Adults need at least 25-34 grams of fiber daily for good health.
5. Understand % Daily Value. The % Daily Value (DV) tells you the percentage of each nutrient in a single serving, in terms of the daily recommended amount. If you want to consume less of a nutrient (such as saturated fat or sodium), choose foods with a lower % DV (5% or less). If you want to consume more of a nutrient (such as fiber), choose foods with a higher % DV (20% or more).
The information shown on the label is based on a diet of 2,000 calories a day. You may need less or more than 2,000 calories depending upon your age, gender, activity level and whether you’re trying to lose, gain or maintain your weight.
source: heart.org
