Nutrition Labels Made Easy
Truth time.
I’m old enough to remember when there wasn’t a mandatory food label. It was a time of much confusion. We didn’t always know how many calories we were eating, or how many sugar alcohols we consumed. It was a dark time in history.
In all seriousness, the food label was one of those things that made sense. When it became a mandatory thing, and pretty much everyone was like, “YEAH! That’s a good idea. Why didn’t we do this sooner?”
The problem is, 25 years later, it’s still not perfect. Frankly, sometimes the label isn’t completely clear and can be misleading (most notably when it comes to serving size). Most importantly, many people still don’t really know how to use it to guide their food choices.
When you are cruising the grocery aisles, how often do you flip over your items to check out the nutrition labels or ingredients? I hope so! But let’s do a little review:
There are actually changes from the FDA in the pipeline aimed at updating the label to better reflect current concerns including more realistic serving sizes. Until then, use this as quick guide to help you make more informed food choices:
Nutrition information is provided for one serving of a food or beverage.
How often do you limit yourself to a ½ cup of ice cream when you’re catching up on your Netflix queue? Doesn’t seem like enough to get you through a whole episode of OITNB or Game of Thrones, but that’s a serving size. A pint of Ben and Jerry’s is actually meant for multiple servings; four, in fact.
If a serving size is a ½ cup, and you eat 1 cup, then you must double the calories, fat, sugar, and other ingredients to get an accurate estimate of how much you’ve actually eaten. So if you eat the whole pint (four servings, so you’d have to multiply by 4)… I’ll let you do the math.
Pay special attention to the amount of sugars (including carbohydrates) in one serving.
This is especially important if you have diabetes (or other health concerns) that require you to monitor sugar intake or the glycemic index of foods. At the same time, look for hidden sources of sugar or artificial sugars in the ingredients (like high fructose corn syrup, stevia, or saccharine) which can actually cause fluctuations in insulin response but don’t reflect in the carbohydrate/sugar count on the label.
Check out the amount of fat, especially saturated fat, in one serving.
Don’t get me wrong, some fats are good for you. But some fats contribute to chronic health problems. Saturated fat and trans fats are two examples of fats known to contribute to inflammation and bad cholesterol, which may lead to heart disease (among other problems). Minimize consumption of these fats, and opt instead to get more of your fats from better sources like nuts, seeds, olive oil, and avocados.
Be aware that “0” does not mean zero!
Did you know that a label can claim to be “Zero Trans Fats” but still have up to 1 gram of trans fat per serving?
For my math geek friends out there, I’m with you. This math is ridiculous. But in the food industry 0 simply means less than 5% per serving. This becomes a bigger issue when you consume multiple servings and it starts to add up.
In addition to the nutrition label, you want to take a look at the list of ingredients.
A good rule of thumb to follow: if you cannot pronounce the words that are listed in the ingredients, it’s likely a chemical worth avoiding. Now that’s not always the case. For example, I’ve seen foods fortified with vitamins and those names can be long and sinister sounding. But as Michael Pollen says, eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. The less processed, the simpler the ingredient list, the better.
Some of the items you want to avoid include:
- Preservatives including BHA, BHT, brominated products (that last one is part of a future post on thyroid)
- Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), common in corn and soy derivatives. They won’t come out and say “these are GMO.” You can avoid these all together or look for organic and non-GMO verified on the label.
- Dextrose
- Xanthan gum
- Hydrocarbons (pesticides PCB, DDE, DDT)
- Soy and cottonseed oil
- Dyes (e.g., yellow dye no. 5, tartrazine)
- Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), common in canned foods and Asian cooking
- Food allergens in case you or family members have a known allergy or sensitivities to peanuts, wheat, dairy, soy, or gluten etc…
In a hurry? No time to read labels?
Simple fix, avoid packaged (bag, box, or bottle) foods. Instead, stick to fresh, whole, colorful foods (e.g., fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds). Many grocery stores now have ready-made options like quinoa, bean salad, and grilled veggies and protein. There’re also many restaurants popping up with fresh, real ingredients for people on the go. And don’t forget to avoid drinking your calories and sugar- choose water, unsweetened green or herbal tea, or fresh veggie juices.
And finally – get involved!
In July of 2015 the government proposed a new nutrition information panel for food labeling. The public is invited to comment, so here’s your chance. It’s your health, don’t leave up to the feds alone. Whole you’re at it, make sure to voice your concerns about GMO labeling: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm387533.htm
Fall Favorite: Pumpkin
Fall Favorite: Pumpkin
Though you might automatically think of lattes and Jack-o-lanterns, it’s in fact a seasonal favorite with more weight than just cultural tradition. Pumpkin is also also a nutritional powerhouse!
The orange squash is woven into the fabric of history and cuisine. It’s mentioned in literature, including Shakespeare’s reference to “pumpion” in The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Native Americans roasted long strips of pumpkin over an open flame and ate them.
Colonists made pumpkin pie by slicing off the pumpkin top; removing the seeds; filling the rind with milk, spices, and honey; and then baking the pumpkin over hot ashes.
Pumpkin seeds are dried and salted to make a tasty snack.
And of course we can’t forget that the vibrant fruit (yes it’s a fruit! weird since we typically think of squash as a vegetable) is of course a staple in the Halloween decor department.
So in honor of October and pumpkin everything season, we’ll learn more about this seasonal favorite and the abundance of nutrients and its versatility in healthy meal preparation.
All About Pumpkin
A member of the Cucurbitaceae family (along with cucumber and squash), pumpkin is cultivated around the world for both its fleshy vibrant orange meat and seeds. It is a naturally low calorie (49 calories per one cup serving), yet full of filling fiber.
Health Benefits
- Pumpkin contains no saturated fats or cholesterol. It is rich in dietary fiber, antioxidants, minerals, and many antioxidant vitamins, including A, C, and E.
- It is also an excellent source of many natural polyphenolic flavonoid compounds such as beta-carotenes (which convert into vitamin A when activated in the body), lutein, and zeaxanthin (a natural antioxidant that may offer protection from age-related macular disease).
- Pumpkin is a good source of the B-complex group of vitamins including niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, and pantothenic acid.
- It is a rich source of copper, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus.
- Practically the whole fruit is edible. Pumpkin seeds provide dietary fiber and pack a powerful mix of protein, minerals, and vitamins: 100 g (1 cup) of pumpkin seeds provide 559 calories, 30 g of protein, plus folate, iron, niacin, selenium, and zinc.
Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from Bon Appétit Fast, Easy and Fresh cookbook
Yield: 2 loaves (cut ingredients in half for 1 loaf)
Preheat oven to 350°F
Butter and flour two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans
Ingredients:
- 1½ c. all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour mix)
- 1½ c. whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour mix)
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 c. raw sugar (or raw honey)
- 1 c. sunflower oil
- 3 large eggs (room temp)
- 15 oz. (1 can) pure pumpkin (watch out for added sugar)
- 1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
Sift first eight ingredients into a large bowl. In second bowl, beat sugar and oil to blend, and then add eggs and pumpkin. Mix well. Stir dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture in two additions, just until blended. Add nuts, if you’re feeling nutty!
Divide between loaf pans. Bake approximately 1 hour 10 minutes, or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Transfer to racks and cool in pans for 10 minutes. Cut around sides of pan with a knife to loosen. Turn loaves onto rack to cool, serve and enjoy!