How to Read Nutrition Labels
Eating proper nutrition is key to a healthy lifestyle. With so many food options, it can be difficult to decipher what is beneficial. Nutrition labels provide us with important information that can be used to make smarter food choices. This guideline will help you to better understand these labels, resulting in quicker and healthier decisions at the grocery store.
“Extra Lean”
If you are decreasing fat in your diet, “extra-lean” is more preferable than “lean”. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires every 100-gram serving of “extra lean” have less than 5 grams of fat, less than 2 grams of saturated fat, and fewer than 95 milligrams of cholesterol. “Lean” has twice as much total fats.
“Multigrain”
Whole grains are more nourishing than refined grains. Because of this, it is recommended that half of your daily grain intake is whole. This is easy to detect as whole grain products list the word “whole” amid the first couple of ingredients.
“Low/Reduced Fat”
For the FDA to label a food “low fat” it must have fewer than 3 grams of fat per serving. “Reduced fat” items require 25 percent less fat than the original form.
“Reduced/Low Sugar”
“Reduced sugar” indicates that the product has 25 percent less sugar than the original. “Low sugar” is a term that is not regulated by the FDA, so it’s best to be cautious with foods labeled that.
“99 Percent Fat-Free”
When an item is listed as “99 percent fat-free” it means that 99 percent of its weight is free of fat. However, each gram of fat contains 9 calories, so this is another label to be tentative about.
Keep in my mind when grocery shopping that it’s best to stay on the outer perimeter. That’s where you’ll find most of the whole foods, such as dairy, fruits, nuts, etc. This will help to cut back on time spent reading label. Combine all this information together, and you will be on your way to a healthier lifestyle in no time!