UNLOCKING THE SECRETS TO FOOD LABELS Healthy Living: Lesson 3

Welcome!  Beverly Utt, MS, MPH, RD  Registered Dietitian  Wellness Coach and Smoking Cessation Coordinator with the MultiCare Center for Healthy Living   Phone:

Today’s Class  Unlocking the Secrets to Food Labels  What we will cover:  Food label tour  Getting to know daily values  Finding hidden fat, sugar and salt  Choosing whole grains  And a recipe!

Benefits of Food Labels  Informative  Compare foods and products  Find hidden fat, salt and sugar  Valuable tool

Putting it to Use Let’s look at a Mac-n-Cheese Label

Serving Size  Serving size tells you the measurement of one serving.  All nutrients on the label are based on this amount.  Servings per container tell you how many servings are in the package. This package contains 2 cups of Mac-n-Cheese.

More than one serving? No problem! Serving Amount x Calories or Nutrient Example: How many calories are in 2 servings of Mac-n-Cheese? 2 Cups X 250 Calories = 500 calories 2 Cups x 12g fat = 24g of fat 2 Cups X 250 Calories = 500 calories 2 Cups x 12g fat = 24g of fat 1 Cup = 250 Calories 1 Cup = 250 Calories

Use the Nutrition Facts Label 5% is LOW 20% is HIGH Choose Foods for Their Nutrients…

Putting % Daily Value to Use Nutrients in Yellow: Look for foods that provide LESS of these nutrients or close to 5% the daily value. Nutrients in Blue: Look for foods that provide ENOUGH of these nutrients or close to 20% the daily value.

Food Labels- Daily Value The % Daily Value column is your math free guide! Use the “5-20 Rule” Choose foods that contain 5% Daily Value of fat, sodium, cholesterol, but a 20% Daily Value of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Listed from largest to smallest amount (by weight): Marmalade Jelly Ingredients: sugar, oranges, juice, lemon juice, fruit pectin, citric acid, grapefruit Oat Crisp Crackers Ingredients: whole-grain oat flour, wheat flour, oat flakes, rye flour, skimmed milk powder, yeast, canola oil, baking soda, salt At Look at Ingredients

Look out for Hidden Fat  Ingredients that indicate added fat:  Oil  Shortening  Butter  Beef fat (other animal fats)  Hydrogenated fats or oils (trans fats) avoid these

Look out for Hidden Salt  Ingredients that indicate added salt:  Sodium  Baking soda  Seasoning salt  Soy sauce  Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

Look out for Hidden Sugar  Ingredients that indicate added sugar:  Any ingredient that ends in –ose (e.g. sucrose, fructose)  Corn syrup  High fructose corn syrup  Brown sugar  Molasses  Honey

Ingredients to Watch Out For High Fructose Corn Syrup Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Partially Hydrogenated Oils Aspartame/Sucralose Sodium Nitrate BHA/BHT

Common Health Claims on Food Labels Low Calorie Less than 40 calories p/serving Low Cholesterol Less than 20 mg of cholesterol, 2 gm or less of saturated fat p/serving Reduced 25% less of specified nutrient or calories than the usual product Good Source of Provides at least 10% of the DV of a particular nutrient Calorie Free Less than 5 calories p/serving Fat free/Sugar free Less than ½ gram of fat or sugar p/serving Low sodium Less than 140 mg of sodium p/serving. Light 1/3 fewer calories or 1/2 the fat of the usual food High in Fiber 5 or more grams of fiber p/serving

Look for Whole Grain Ingredients  Words that indicate whole grain:  whole grain corn, whole wheat, whole oats, whole rye, wild rice, brown rice, bulgur, graham flour, pearl barley, popcorn, oatmeal  Words that don’t necessarily mean whole grain:  Multigrain, wheat flour, enriched, bran, stone-ground, 100% wheat, seven-grain, cracked wheat, white rice, degerminated cornmeal

Why Whole Grain?

Tips for Buying Whole Grains  Look for the whole grain stamp  Look for “whole” grains in the first three ingredients in foods  Just because something is dark colored does not necessarily mean it is a whole grain! Check the ingredients list!

Label Free Foods

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