Sometimes it could be such a pain to figure out what you should be ingesting and what should NOT be ingesting with the plenitude of ingredients and nutritional facts on food labels. But for us astute shoppers, the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has come through with a comprehensive, standardized label format that is now legally required to be on every consumer food product bought in the store for mass consumption. So, no matter what the food, you can easily compare its value to you with that of any other food.
Look for the title that says "Nutrition Facts" - this is the first thing you want to look at on the label, located right on top of the label, and this contains the three cardinal elements of the standardized format.
How Large is the Serving Size: This is composed of two things, first, the standardized amount (pieces, cups, tablespoons, etc.) and its corresponding metric amount. (grams, kilograms, etc.)
Look for the title that says "Nutrition Facts" - this is the first thing you want to look at on the label, located right on top of the label, and this contains the three cardinal elements of the standardized format.
How Large is the Serving Size: This is composed of two things, first, the standardized amount (pieces, cups, tablespoons, etc.) and its corresponding metric amount. (grams, kilograms, etc.)
Number of Servings per Container. Most packaged foods contain multiple servings in a single package, making it easy to double, triple, quadruple, etc. the caloric intake from that of a single serving.
Number of Calories per Serving Contained in Each Package. There are specific benchmarks for different kinds of food products - 40 calories would generally be considered low-calorie, 100 calories would be moderate, while anything over 400 would be high-calorie.
For the weight watchers out there (and I know there are a lot), monitoring both caloric intake and the number of servings is a great tip to keep your weight down. You can also maintain a healthy balance between high-calorie and low-calorie foods by spacing them out depending on which time of the day you eat them.
The next step to using nutrition labels to help control your weight is to get the most nutrition out of the calories you take in.
Use the Percentage Daily Value to tell you how rich in each of the required nutrients the food really is. These daily values would be based on the hypothesis of the average person requiring 2,000 calories a day. 5% or less of a nutrient's %DV is low, 20% or more of a nutrient's %DV is high. What you also would want to do is reduce your levels of Cholesterol, Sodium and Total Fat. As for the most detrimental form of Fat (Trans-Fat), there is no daily limit or requirement, but you should always check the quantity per serving and keep your intake of such as LOW as possible. Make sure to get plenty of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron.
Once you have thoroughly educated yourself on the nutritional content of a product you are wanting to buy, it is now time to make a decision - is the caloric content and nutritional value enough to make this product part of your meal, or perhaps should you be snacking on it? Next question to ask yourself - should the nutritional value be lacking in pith, do you have any other options that could satisfy your caloric and nutritional requirements?
Number of Calories per Serving Contained in Each Package. There are specific benchmarks for different kinds of food products - 40 calories would generally be considered low-calorie, 100 calories would be moderate, while anything over 400 would be high-calorie.
For the weight watchers out there (and I know there are a lot), monitoring both caloric intake and the number of servings is a great tip to keep your weight down. You can also maintain a healthy balance between high-calorie and low-calorie foods by spacing them out depending on which time of the day you eat them.
The next step to using nutrition labels to help control your weight is to get the most nutrition out of the calories you take in.
Use the Percentage Daily Value to tell you how rich in each of the required nutrients the food really is. These daily values would be based on the hypothesis of the average person requiring 2,000 calories a day. 5% or less of a nutrient's %DV is low, 20% or more of a nutrient's %DV is high. What you also would want to do is reduce your levels of Cholesterol, Sodium and Total Fat. As for the most detrimental form of Fat (Trans-Fat), there is no daily limit or requirement, but you should always check the quantity per serving and keep your intake of such as LOW as possible. Make sure to get plenty of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron.
Once you have thoroughly educated yourself on the nutritional content of a product you are wanting to buy, it is now time to make a decision - is the caloric content and nutritional value enough to make this product part of your meal, or perhaps should you be snacking on it? Next question to ask yourself - should the nutritional value be lacking in pith, do you have any other options that could satisfy your caloric and nutritional requirements?
Use the Percentage Daily Value to tell you how rich in each of the required nutrients the food really is. These daily values would be based on the hypothesis of the average person requiring 2,000 calories a day. 5% or less of a nutrient's %DV is low, 20% or more of a nutrient's %DV is high. What you also would want to do is reduce your levels of Cholesterol, Sodium and Total Fat. As for the most detrimental form of Fat (Trans-Fat), there is no daily limit or requirement, but you should always check the quantity per serving and keep your intake of such as LOW as possible. Make sure to get plenty of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron.
Once you have thoroughly educated yourself on the nutritional content of a product you are wanting to buy, it is now time to make a decision - is the caloric content and nutritional value enough to make this product part of your meal, or perhaps should you be snacking on it? Next question to ask yourself - should the nutritional value be lacking in pith, do you have any other options that could satisfy your caloric and nutritional requirements? Fortunately for you, the answer is indubitably YES in most, if not all situations.
About the Author:
Once you have thoroughly educated yourself on the nutritional content of a product you are wanting to buy, it is now time to make a decision - is the caloric content and nutritional value enough to make this product part of your meal, or perhaps should you be snacking on it? Next question to ask yourself - should the nutritional value be lacking in pith, do you have any other options that could satisfy your caloric and nutritional requirements? Fortunately for you, the answer is indubitably YES in most, if not all situations.
About the Author:
Are you interested in Easter invitations? Need portable air conditioner systems info? We've got it!