Wednesday, February 10, 2010

How to Read Food Labels

You can not measure each item that passes through your lips, but it is a good idea to measure most foods and beverages until you get a feel for portion sizes.
This is SUPERSIZED world out there, and most people are surprised to find that their idea of a single serving is actually two or three.

If you are into bells and whistles, there are food scales that are preprogrammed with nutritional information, and scale that will save the running total of your daily intake of food and nutrition for you. The only tool that truly need, however, is simple and inexpensive gram scale, dry and liquid measuring cups, and the idea of reading food labels.

Among all the tools mentioned, reading food labels seem to be the most effective way to determine the right kind of food should be bought in supermarkets. This allows you to make food choices that make sense. Through the "Nutrition Facts" on the part of certain goods in the store, you can identify the number of serving sizes provided in the product.

With food labels, you can clearly understand the amount and type of nutrients provided in the item. Usually, contains information about saturated fat, sodium, total fat, fiber, and cholesterol amount "per serving."

However, understanding and reading these food labels can be very confusing. A typical consumer would ask what the numbers mean and how it will affect her diet intake if he would serve the religion to follow established guidelines on food labels.

To more clearly and have a more comprehensive understanding of the items listed in food labels, here is a list of things you need to know:

1. Serving

This is the main item you will see on food labels.
The number of servings listed on the label refers to the amount of food people usually consume food. However, this does not mean you own that reflects the amount of food intake.

In addition, serving size determines the amount of nutrients that enter the body. This means that if you will follow strictly what the serving size, you'll get the same amount of nutrients according to the serving size given on the label.

For example, if the serving size says one serving size equal to 54 grams, that means you have to measure 54 grams and eat that and you've just eaten one serving. So to speak, the amount of nutrients contained in food labels in the same amount that has entered your body considering the fact that you've just eaten 54 grams.

However, if you've eaten everything, and the food label says that each packet is equivalent to 4 servings, you must calculate the amount of nutrients that have entered your body. This means that if the food label says 250 calories per serving, which means you have to multiply it to four to get the total number of calories that have been taken.

2. Nutrition

This refers to the list of available nutrients in a particular item. This is also where the nutritional claims of products based on the daily allowance recommended dietary stated. Typically, the amount of nutrition is based on both diet 2500 calories and 2000 recommended dietary allowances.

In order to understand the numerical value of each item, you must know that the "% daily value" that shows the actual food label is based on how specific foods according to the daily allowance recommended for 2000 calorie diet.

If in the event that you have purchased an item that has a dietary allowance different from the 2,000-calorie diet, you only need to divide the amount specified by the 2000 and you will be able to identify the "% daily value" for nutrition.

3. Materials

This refers to the list of materials used to produce the product. The listing is usually arranged from the main ingredients that have a greater amount of weight to the smallest amount. This means that the actual amount of food, including the largest number of primary materials or items first and the last minimum amount of material.

4. Label claim

This refers to the kinds of nutritional claims of certain foodstuffs. example, if an item says it is sodium-free, he has less than 5 milligrams per serving or a low fat item actually contains 3 grams of fat or less.

Indeed, reading food labels can be very boring and confusing. However, once you get the hang of it, it's easier for you to watch your diet because you can control the amount of food you take.

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