I get a lot of interesting questions about weight loss from clients, friends, family members and even emails and Facebook posts from strangers. One of the more frequent questions I get is along the lines of: "Is this a good food choice?" and it is usually accompanied with a picture of a food item or package.
I love getting these questions, even though sometimes it seems I get over a hundred texts and emails a week with these pictures, it means I have my clients thinking about what they are eating.
The label and ingredient list is always a good start in answering that question: "is this a smart choice". It is important that you understand what this information means.
First, and most important, if the food item doesn’t have a label, it is the better choice. Ever notice that there isn’t a label on a bunch or carrots or head of lettuce? There isn’t one on the fresh meat in the butcher aisle either. These foods don’t need labels because they come from nature. They haven’t been altered, they are not packaged or processed and are always the best choices to start with. As often as I get pictures of food, I have never had anyone send me picture of an apple or a great cut of steak.
You may have noticed some packages have a little sticker with a health check, or claim to be low in fat, low in sodium or even a guarantee of being a healthy alternative. It is important to note that this is just marketing. When a product makes these claims, ask yourself what are they comparing it to.
Is it lower in fat in comparison to the regular product? Does that regular product have an outrageous amount of fat and this lower fat product have slightly less. The claim is accurate, it is lower in fat, but could still be much higher in fat than the natural product or a product by another manufacturer. If the product is in fact much lower in fat, you also need to consider what the fat has been replaced with to keep the food tasting good. Where I have attacked fat for this example, the same applies to sodium, sugar and all other evils that we need to keep in moderation. To end this little rant, don’t let catchy marketing and packaging fool you.
Focus your attention first with the ingredient list. The smaller the list, chances are the better it is for you. I like to stick to options that have a maximum of three or four ingredients and I try to steer clear of added sugars (including unnatural sweeteners like aspartame, hydrogenated starch, hydrolysate, and sucralose). It is usually a red flag if I can’t pronounce an ingredient or I have no idea what it is.
If you have gotten past the catchy marketing, and the ingredient list check out, now you can focus on the nutrition label.–character id 13Serving size is always at the top and should be reviewed first. The serving size will vary from each manufacturer. Consider how much of the product you will be consuming and how that relates to the serving size noted before you continue to review the list. The serving size of my favorite peanut butter is 2 tablespoons and when you think about it and how most people will eat peanut butter as a condiment spread on toast or fruit, 2 tablespoons is a lot. If you eat peanut butter like I do, one scoop is spread and one scoop or more go straight in my mouth, you might need to increase that serving size to accommodate what you actually consume.
Immediately following serving size, the calories and nutrients are listed. I will leave my rant about calories for another day; just remember our bodies need calories.
Along the right side of the label you will see a percentage of daily value. The bottom of the label will explain what this percentage is based on. Commonly you will see this based on a 2000 calorie diet. How does 2000 calories compare to what you consume? General rule of thumb is 5% or less of your daily value is considered low, and 20% or more is high. Another thing to think about is when are you eating the product. I like to keep my snacking on the lower end to allow for my meals to make up most of my nutrients.
Fat, specifically the saturated fat and trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium are all nutrients that should be limited. It is important to be aware that a label can claim that there is no trans fat yet still include up to 0.5 grams of fat per serving. This is yet another reason to review the ingredient list first.
Fibre, vitamins, calcium, thiamin and niacin are also commonly listed and it is important that you get enough of these nutrients on a daily basis.
When it comes to food, you need to take responsibility for what you consume. Next time you are at the grocery store or reach into the pantry for your favorite box of yummies, give the ingredient list and nutrition label a look and ask yourself: "is this a smart choice?".
