One of the great marvels of modern science: the surprisingly complicated nutrition label.
Here's the scene: You're standing in the aisle of the grocery store, staring at the enticing labels and packaging of the foods you are considering adding to your increasingly full shopping cart.
One says "Extra Healthy" right on it, whereas another one reads "For a Healthy Diet" or some other play on a disappointingly false statement. What about "Low Fat" vs. "Less Fat" and the infinite possibilities continue... which do you buy?
Well, there's no truly easy answer to that. Clearly the goal in this scenario is to find the healthier food, but how can we make that determination based on what a well-thought-out marketing label is telling us?
The key is to make sure you're checking the right label and the important information. And no, it's not the gimmicky, brightly-colored cartoon characters on the front; the label you should be checking is the nutrition label.
How to Read Nutrition Labels
- First, check to see if the food contains any unhealthy fats. These would be your trans fats, in some cases your saturated fats, or perhaps even interesterified or stearate-rich oils.
- Second, pay attention to the amount of sugar. Do your best to avoid foods that contain too much. Not only will it elevate your blood glucose levels, but it may lead to added weight gain and several other health complications.
Especially, be wary of "drinking" too many calories that come from high-sugar drinks such as soda and fruit juice. You want to enjoy your calories from healthy solid foods, not waste them on a few gulps of liquefied sugar. - Third, look for foods high in fiber. Basically, the more, the better. Apples and other fruits and vegetables are a great source, and you're probably getting far less fiber than you need.
- Lastly, examine the overall number of ingredients. In most cases, more ingredients means you're holding in your hand a highly-process and unhealthy "food."
Try to stick to whole, natural foods that have the fewest number of ingredients, little or no added sugar, lots of fiber, and healthy fats. Once you make this a habit, checking those misleading labels will be a thing of the past!
Once you've got a handle on the nutrition label, it's time to delve deeper and find out what exactly each ingredient and macro-nutrient REALLY means at http://www.fitbuff.com
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