Food+Labels

[|Health Inventory Survey]



=**Figuring Out Food Labels** = Eating healthy means choosing lots of different types of food throughout the day to get all the nutrients you need, such as vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fiber, and — yes — even fat. So how do you figure all this out? Thank goodness for food labels! Food labels provide more than just nutrition facts, though. They also tell you what's in a packaged food (i.e., the ingredients). Some food labels also state which country the food came from, whether the food is organic, and certain health claims. So who decides what information goes on a food label? In the United States, it's the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). These agencies require that all food labels show the same nutrition and health information. This allows consumers to compare different foods and make the choices that are right for them. The FDA and USDA regulate any health claims that companies make on their food labels. When a food says "light" ("lite") or "low fat" on the label, it must meet strict government definitions in order to make that claim. Foods that are labeled "USDA organic" are required to have at least 95% organic ingredients. Consumers often compare prices of food items in the grocery store to choose the best value for money. But comparing items using the food label can help us choose the best value for our health. The food label is one of the most valuable tools we as consumers have. For example, someone with high blood pressure who needs to watch salt (sodium) intake may have a choice of five different types of tomato soup on the rack.One can quickly and easily compare the sodium content of each product by looking at the part of the label that lists nutrition information to choose the one with the lowest sodium content.

Most nutrients are defined on the basis of 2,000 calorie intake a day for women and 2,200 calories intake a day for men, but one does not need to memorize these numbers. As per the regulation the nutrients must be declared on the Nutrition Facts Label as "percent Daily Value" (%DV), which tells the percent of the recommended daily intake to help the consumer create a balanced diet.

As the saying goes "You are what you eat". These days most items contain food preservatives and food color. Youngsters eat cereal and consume sports drinks that are blue, green and multicolored. Research shows that color is not good for the body and may even have carcinogenic - inducing cancer- properties. Younger kids eat lollipops and cotton candy which is pure sugar and color. Checking out food labels can help one choose the right amount of natural Vitamin A & C, calcium and iron for kids and avoid the junk. The Nutrition Facts food label is printed somewhere on the outside of packaged food, and you usually don't have to look hard to find it. Fresh food that doesn't come prepackaged sometimes has nutrition facts, too. Most nutrients are measured in grams, also written as g. Some nutrients are measured in milligrams, or mg. Milligrams are very tiny — there are 1,000 milligrams in 1 gram. Other information on the label is given in percentages. Food contains fat, protein, carbohydrates, and fiber. Food also contains vitamins, such as A and C, and minerals, such as calcium and iron. Nutrition specialists know how much of each one kids and adults should get every day to have a healthy diet. The percent daily value on a food label tells you how this food can help someone meet these daily goals. Kids can still get important information from food labels. They can get a general idea about what the food contains, how much is in a serving, and how many calories are in a serving. Kids can use labels to compare two foods. Which one has more fiber? Which one has more fat? Which one has more calories per serving?

__**Ingredient List **__
The ingredient list is another important part of the label. Ingredients are listed in order so you get an idea of how much of each ingredient is in the food. When something is listed first, second, or third, you know that this food probably contains a lot of it. The food will contain smaller amounts of the ingredients mentioned at the end of the list. With that in mind, check ingredient lists to see where sugar appears. Limit foods that mention sugar in the first few ingredients. That means it's a very sugary food. Sugar has different names, so it might also be called high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sucrose, or glucose. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Food Label Information: ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Serving Size ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 12px;">The nutrition label always lists a serving size, which is an amount of food, such as five pretzels. The nutrition label tells you how many nutrients are in that amount of food. Serving sizes also help people understand how much they're eating. So, if you ate 10 pretzels, that would be two servings. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Servings per Container or Package ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px;">The label also tells you how many servings are contained in that package of food. If there are 15 servings in a box of cookies and each serving is two cookies, you have enough for all 30 kids in your class to have one cookie each. Math comes in handy with food labels! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Calories and Calories From Fat ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px;">The number of calories in a single serving of the food is listed on the left of the label. This number tells you the amount of energy in the food. The calories in a food can come from fat, protein, or carbohydrate. People pay attention to calories because if you eat more calories than your body uses, you might gain weight. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px;">Another important part of the label is the number of calories that come from fat. People check this because it's good to limit fat intake to about 30% or less of the calories they eat. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Total Fat ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px;">The total fat is the number of fat grams contained in one serving of the food. Fat is an important nutrient that your body uses for growth and development, but you don't want to eat too much. The different kinds of fat, such as saturated, unsaturated, and trans fat, will be listed separately on the label. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Cholesterol and Sodium ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 12px;">These numbers tell you how much cholesterol and sodium (salt) are in a single serving of the food. They are included on the label because some people should limit the amount of cholesterol and salt in their diets. Cholesterol and sodium are usually measured in milligrams. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Total Carbohydrate ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; font-size: 12px;">This number tells you how many c arbohydrate grams are in one serving of food. Carbohydrates are your body's primary source of energy. This total is broken down into grams of sugar and grams of dietary fiber. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Protein ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> This number tells you how much protein you get from a single serving of the food. Your body needs protein to build and repair essential parts of the body, such as muscles, blood, and organs. Protein is often measured in grams. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** Vitamins and Minerals ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px;">Food labels generally list the amounts of vitamin A and vitamin C, two especially important vitamins, in a serving of the food. Each amount is given as a percent daily value. Other vitamins may be listed on some labels. Labels may also list the percentages of calcium and iron, two important minerals, that are in a serving of the food. Again, each amount is given as a percent daily value and other minerals may be listed on the label.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12px;">Read before you eat! **

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