Reading Nutrition Labels

Fats If most of the fat content comes from healthy unsaturated fat, you're probably good to go. If the fat is mainly saturated and/or the product has any trans fat, put it back on the shelf. Trans fat has been shown to increase levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol while decreasing levels of "good" HDL cholesterol—a double health whammy. Source: http://www.health.com/

Sodium Excess sodium can raise blood pressure, which increases heart disease risk, and it may be a sign of a more highly processed food. Limit your daily intake of sodium to 1,500 mg. Source: http://www.health.com/

Example: Top Ramen There are 2 servings per package. If you eat the entire package, you have eaten 1,520 mg of sodium!

Fiber Look for at least 3g of fiber per serving in any product that contains grains, including bread, crackers, pasta and even some soups. Source: http://www.health.com/

Sugars This number doesn't distinguish between naturally occurring sugars (like lactose in milk or fructose in fruit) and added sugar (like high-fructose corn syrup or brown rice syrup). It’s better to look at the ingredients for sources of added sugar (see next slide). Source: http://www.health.com/

Added Sugars If sugar is one of the first two ingredients, don't bring it home For added sugar, look for the words sugar, as in high fructose corn syrup, palm sugar or invert sugar; sweetener, as in corn sweetener; or syrup, as in brown rice syrup or malt syrup. Also watch for words ending in -ose, like fructose or glucose. Source: http://www.health.com/

Vitamins and Minerals The Daily Value (DV) is the amount of each nutrient that's considered sufficient for most healthy adults. A food that contains anywhere from 10 percent to 19 percent of the DV is considered a good source of a nutrient. Source: http://www.health.com/

Whole Grains Look for the word whole before the name of any grain, as in whole wheat. Popcorn, oatmeal and quinoa are also considered whole grains. If you see the word enriched before a grain, it's a sign that the grain has been refined, meaning it has been stripped of the germ and bran, which pack most of the grain's nutrients including fiber. Source: http://www.health.com/

Whole Wheat Bread? NO!!

Check the Serving Size If the serving size is ½ cup, and you eat the entire can which has 3.5 servings, you need to multiply 3.5 servings x 150 calories to find out how many calories you are eating altogether. All of the other nutritional information must be multiplied by 3.5 as well.

Which is has less calories? ½ the container of frozen yogurt OR The whole container of yogurt

Ingredients to Avoid Diet foods or diet soda Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, Nutrasweet, Equal, and Splenda (sucralose) High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) Artificial flavorings Added colors Bad oils like hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils such as vegetable or canola oil and margarine

Fat Free Doesn’t Mean Sugar Free Diet foods with little or no fat often flavor the foods with sugar or sugar substitutes Some fats in your diet are not bad for you (i.e avocado) Limit the amount of added fats in your diet, but don’t eliminate all fats

Not all “Orange” Juice is the Same – Read the Label

The Order of Ingredients The ingredients label lists all ingredients in the food product The ingredients are listed in order by amount. The higher up on the list an ingredient is, the more of it a product contains. Ingredients: Sugar, Corn Flour, Wheat Flour, Whole Oat Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (One or More of: Coconut, Cottonseed, and Soybean) (Less than 0.5 g Trans Fat Per Serving), Salt, Sodium Ascorbate and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Reduced Iron, Natural Orange, Lemon, Cherry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Lime, and Other Natural Flavors, Red No. 40, Blue No. 2, Yellow No. 6, Zinc Oxide, Niacinamide, Turmeric Color, Blue No. 1, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Palmitate, Annatto Color, BHT (Preservative), Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12.

Fruit Loops – Are they healthy? Ingredients: Sugar, Corn Flour, Wheat Flour, Whole Oat Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (One or More of: Coconut, Cottonseed, and Soybean) (Less than 0.5 g Trans Fat Per Serving), Salt, Sodium Ascorbate and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Reduced Iron, Natural Orange, Lemon, Cherry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Lime, and Other Natural Flavors, Red No. 40, Blue No. 2, Yellow No. 6, Zinc Oxide, Niacinamide, Turmeric Color, Blue No. 1, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Palmitate, Annatto Color, BHT (Preservative), Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12. Bolded words are unhealthy ingredients.

Small Group Activity

On Your Own