reading food labels Archives

So March is ending and with it the celebration of National Nutrition Month. Well, we don’t really let Nutrition Month ever end! We need to be alert and focused on our health at all times. That’s not to say we can’t enjoy our favorite “not so healthy” foods every now and then.

I bring this up to point out an interesting find Angie made. Angie was traveling this week and had to stay in hotels. She found one that had a freezer and microwave which would allow her to “prepare” her own meals and not eat out as much. She decided to find some healthy, single serve frozen entrees and add frozen vegetables to them to enhance the nutrition profile of the meal. Along with the added vegetables, Angie also added a piece of fruit to the meal. If you are not careful, using frozen meals will result in a high sodium, fat, and calorie meal.

Angie found some ni nutrition month ce entrees to use and enjoyed them. She found how to read food labels the “Amy’s Gluten Free, No GMO, Cheese Enchilada, Made with Organic Tortillas & Tomatoes”, with other single serve frozen items and glanced at the Nutrition Facts. Once she got to her hotel room and started preparing her meal, she realized the small package was actually contained 2 servings! Instead of getting 440 mg of sodium, she consumed 880 mg. We generally counsel clients to keep sodium goals to 2000 mg a day or 500-600 mg per meal. While she did not exceed her overall daily sodium intake for the day by too much, that was an excessive amount for her at one meal. And for the record, no, Angie did not purchase the item because of the gluten free, organic ingredients and No GMO claims!

We often say that you can’t judge a book (or packaged food) by its cover. Unfortunately, its the cover that usually sells the book (or food)! So be alert when you shop. Have a plan and know what you are looking for in your meals. We’ve included a guide, Finding a Healthy Frozen Meal, Finding a Healthy Frozen Meal to help you choose frozen meals and stay within your dietary guidelines.

Keep celebrating Nutrition Month each day to help you reach the health you want. Add in some extra activity and you’ll be on your way. Never forget, you hold the keys to better health!

It’s Your Health. It’s Your Life. Make That Change!

~John

As I was checking out of the grocery store the other day, a display near the register caught my attention. It was an end of aisle snack display. With a 75 cent price tag, I’m sure they get picked up easily and without much thought. As you know, I love to check the Nutrition Facts Labels. So I had to take a look at the Little Debbie display of donuts, Honey Buns, Ho Ho’s, and other sweet snacks. I will always check the most important number first: SERVING SIZE. Fortunately, the serving size for all of the items was one whole package. Knowing that my kids would prefer the donuts, I picked up the Chocolate Frosted Mini Donuts. With six donuts in a package, I could see each child downing one package a piece.

Let’s look at the Nutrition Facts: 1 package, of 6 mini donuts, provides 430 calories with 26 grams of Total Fat and 15 grams of Saturated Fat. This product also provides 340 mg of Sodium.

So what does that mean? It depends. Depends on your nutritional needs and your health history! To give you an idea of where your needs may fall, women generally require between 1500-1900 calories a day. Total Fat should range between about 50 to 65 grams and Saturated Fat no more than 8 to 10 grams. Men require around 1800-2400 calories a day. Total Fat should range between 60-80 grams and Saturated Fat between 10 to 14 grams. All Americans would benefit from keeping Sodium intake below 2000 mg each day.

Keep in mind, these are just general guidelines. To find out your individualized needs, see a Registered Dietitian and have them perform a Nutrition Evaluation.

If we use the guidelines above, eating just one serving of these mini donuts will exceed the daily requirements of Saturated Fat for both men and women and significantly add to the Total Fat for both as well.

The 340 mg of Sodium accounts for 17% of your daily intake total.

If you ate just one of the six donuts, you would still get 70 calories, 4 grams of Total Fat, 2.5 grams of Saturated Fat, and 55 mg of Sodium. You can see how the calories and fat add up quickly.

Remember, this is a snack food, not a meal. So if you were to eat it and later had a meal, your fat and saturated fats would increase as well. These numbers are significant. I often have clients tell me that they are not eating much, yet cannot lose the weight they thought they should be losing. Eating small amounts of foods like those shown here can make it difficult to reach your nutrition goals.

People often talk that all foods are ok in moderation. That is true. However, if we are not sure what moderation is or we are not mindful of the amounts and types of foods we eat each day, we will find ourselves getting into nutritional trouble.

So as you get ready to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend, be aware of your food AND beverage choices! Those liquid calories can add up quickly also. Make sure to add some fruits and vegetables to your meals, drink plenty of water and truly follow the concept of moderation. You’ll feel better and your body will thank you!

It’s Your Health. It’s Your Life. Make That Change!

~John

Keep National Nutrition Month Alive!

A little won’t hurt…or will it?

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