HOW TO MONITOR YOUR DIET (NUTRITIONAL FACT)

Food labels are those small prints that come with packaged foods, and they show the details of the number of servings, additives, calories and sodium content of the food. Knowing what food labels say about foods matters a lot, especially for those who are grappling with illnesses that require strict adherence to certain dietary patterns.

For instance, physicians say if you are hypertensive, you must reduce sodium (salt) consumption to the barest minimum — that is if you can’t eliminate salt from your diet altogether. Again, for the diabetic, knowing the quantity of sugar in any food is important, if only to prevent your sugar level from fluctuating wildly and put you at a risk of complications. 

Serving size

The US Food and Drug Administration describes serving sizes as a standardised way of making it easier for consumers to compare similar foods; and they are provided in familiar units, such as cups or pieces, followed by the metric amount. For instance, when we talk of one serving of macaroni and cheese, it equals one cup. So, if you ate the whole package, it means you have eaten two cups; and that translates into double the calories and other nutrient numbers shown in the label.

Calories (and calories from fat)

Experts say calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of a particular food. Many people erroneously consume more calories than they need without meeting recommended intakes for a number of nutrients.

The calorie section of the label can help you manage your weight — whether you are trying to gain, lose, or maintain it. And that’s why the number of servings you consume determines the number of calories you actually eat. Knowing the calorie content will help you determine how much food to eat at a time.

Percentage daily value

• If a food has a daily value of five per cent or less of a nutrient, it is considered to be low in that nutrient.

• A food is a good source of a nutrient if the percentage daily value is between 10 per cent and 19 per cent.

• If the food has 20 per cent or more of the daily value, it is considered an excellent source of that nutrient.

Ingredient facts

This is a very important aspect of food labels, as it’s what tells you what really is in the food you are eating. Such ‘facts’ include:

• Shortening: that is any fat that is solid at room temperature and derived either from plant or animal sources. Depending on what the shortening is made from, it could contain trans fats, which have been linked to a number of adverse health effects. According to Wikipedia, such shortenings particularly include that made from lard or hydrogenated vegetable oil (vegetable shortening). Experts say these two have higher fat content, compared to butter and margarine shortening. So, look for food labels that say “trans fat-free,” and reduce the consumption of foods that have high levels of saturated fats, sodium, cholesterol and hydrogenated fats, among others.

• Colourings: A new study by researchers at Cornell University warns that artificial dyes, preservatives, or high fructose corn syrup — all of which are regular ingredients in packaged foods — have been linked to cancer and obesity. Watch out for these ingredients and avoid them as much as possible.

• Enriched flour: When you hear the word “enriched,” the tendency is to think that in addition to its natural properties, a food’s nutritional value is further beefed up by whatever ingredient manufacturers claim they have enriched it with. But nutritionists say the term is a warning.

Experts at the Institute for Natural Healing have this to say about enriched flour: “The term ‘enriched’ is especially misleading when looking at the final product. Such a term readily invokes the impression and visceral response that any food that is deliberately enriched must truly be an especially good food to eat. In fact, so much is taken out of the grain products in the first place that the subsequent addition of some vitamins and minerals to those products barely mitigates their loss when they were initially removed from the grain.

“To use an analogy, if a robber takes the last $10 out of your wallet, you’ve definitely been acutely and totally depleted of your immediate financial resources. However, if that robber became suddenly sympathetic to your acute financial deficit and decided to return to you $1, it is not likely that you would consider yourself ‘enriched.’ Rather, you would just consider yourself a little bit less massively depleted of your money. And so it is with grains and modern food processing. Enrichment really only means slightly less massively depleted.”

Indeed, nutritionists warn that instead of being a slow, steady process through which you get steady bursts of energy, your body breaks down enriched flour too quickly, flooding the blood stream with too much sugar at once.

Your body then has to work hard to absorb the excess and stores it as fat. This causes quick highs and lows in your blood-sugar level, which can lead to Type-2 diabetes and obesity.

Worse still, they warn, you’re not getting anywhere near the amount of nutrients that whole grains contain. So, instead of eating foods made from “enriched” flour or wheat, eat ones made from whole grains; they are richer in dietary fibre, antioxidants, protein, dietary minerals and vitamins.