You cannot measure every
morsel that passes your lips, but it is a good idea to measure most foods and
beverages until you get a feel for portion sizes.
It is a supersized world
out there, and most people are surprised to find that their idea of a single
serving is two or three.
If you are into bells
and whistles, there are food scales that are preprogrammed with nutritional
information, as well as scales that will keep a running total of your daily
food and nutrient intake for you. The only tools you need, are simple and
inexpensive gram scale, dry and liquid measuring cups, and idea on reading food
labels.
Among all of the mentioned
tools, reading food labels seem to be the most effective way of determining the
right kind of food to be bought in the supermarket. It lets you make sensible
food selections. Through the “Nutrition Facts” section in a particular item in
the grocery, you can identify the amount of serving sizes provided in that
product.
With food labels, you
can clearly understand the amount and kinds of nutrients that are provided in
the item. Usually, it contains the information on saturated fat, sodium, total
fat, fiber, and cholesterol amount “per serving.”
However, understanding
and reading these food labels can be very perplexing. A typical consumer would
ask what, those numbers mean and how it will affect her diet intake if ever she
will religiously follow the serving guide as stipulated on the food label.
To further have a clear
and more comprehensive understanding of the items stated in the food label,
here is a list of things that you need to know:
1. Serving size
This is the primary item
you will see in a food label.
The amount of servings
stated in the food label refers to the quantity of food people usually consume.
However, this does not necessarily mean that it reflects your very own amount
of food intake.
Moreover, serving size
determines the amount of nutrients that enter the body. This means that if you
will follow strictly what the serving size is, you will obtain the same amount
of nutrients according to the serving size that was given in the label.
For instance, if the
serving size says one serving size is equal to 54 grams, that would mean you
have to measure 54 grams and eat that and you have just eaten one serving. So
to speak, the amount of nutrients stated in the food label is the same amount
that has entered your body because you have just eaten 54 grams.
However, if you have
eaten everything, and the food label says that each pack is equivalent to 4
servings, you have to calculate the amount of nutrients that have entered your
body. This means that if the food label says 250 calories per serving that
means you have to multiply it to four to get the total amount of calories you
have taken.
2. Nutrients
This refers to the list
of available nutrients in a particular item. It is also where the nutritional
claims of the product based on the recommended daily dietary allowance are
stated. Usually, the nutritional amounts are based on both the 2,500-calorie diets
and the 2,000 recommended dietary allowances.
To understand the
numeric value of each item, you should know that the “ daily value” that the
food label indicates is based on how a particular food corresponds to the
recommended daily dietary allowance for a 2,000 calorie.
If you have purchased an
item that has a dietary allowance different from the 2,000-calorie diet, you
just have to divide the stipulated amount by 2,000 and you will be able to
identify the “%daily value” for the nutrients.
3. Ingredients
This refers to the list
of the ingredients that were used to manufacture the product. The listing is
usually arranged from the main ingredients that have a greater amount by weight
up to the smallest quantity. This simply means that the actual quantity of the
food includes the biggest quantity of the main ingredient or the first item and
the minimum amount of the very last ingredient.
4. Label claim
This refers to the kinds
of nutritional claims of a particular food item. For instance, if an item says
it is sodium-free, it has less than 5 milligrams per serving or a low-fat item
contains 3 grams of fat or less.
Indeed, reading food
labels can be very tedious and confusing. Nevertheless, once you get the hang
of it, it would be easier for you to watch your diet because you can already
control the amount of food that you take.