What to Evaluate on Nutrition Labels

The challenges of eating well in our modern society have led the government to require nutritional labels on most foods, with revisions sure to come sooner or later. While it shouldn’t take a degree in food science to go grocery shopping, we all do need to check out some of the data available on things we intend to put into our bodies. This short article from The Duluth News Tribune (see http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/features/3705952-8-important-things-look-nutrition-labels) highlights eight things that this particular author would argue matter most when scanning food labels. The eight are calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, protein, carbohydrates, and serving size.

I too tend to look at eight things on a food label, now that I’ve stopped to think about it, which does seem like an awful lot of time to spend scanning food labels. Clearly, as time goes by, you don’t have to look at every item each time you buy it, but it certainly is important to review out your stats pretty regularly, especially on the things you eat often. And the above list, compiled by celebrity nutritionist Christine Avanti, author of Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food, has done a good job, by my amateur standards. The one that most often trips me up is serving size, since some “creativity” seems to be allowed to food manufacturers when they claim a single can of pop or candy bar actually has 2 ½ servings in it. Yeah, right, I’m going to get a friend and a half to share my Snickers with.

Sodium and sugar are the two most in my sights these days, and it seems the problems of consuming too much of either of them are much in the news these days. Calories and fat are pretty much the “Duh, really?” pair that everyone understands, or at least should. Protein is this year’s glamorous newcomer that seems to be the topic of many nutritional articles. For me, carb amounts have never been something to which I’ve paid much attention, especially once I figured out the difference between good and bad carbs. To understand the quality of the carbs, you have to look at the ingredient listings, not the nutritional label. So instead, my eighth item to check would be fiber. The more fiber, generally, the better the carbs has been my experience. Fiber is also one of those neglected nutritional areas, according to many experts. We’ve had a couple of fiber fads over the years, but they tend to fade quickly as fiber just isn’t that sexy compared to the other nutritional actors.

Regardless, this article gives a quick review of some of the most important nutritional information, in one person’s opinion. Whether or not you think all eight are crucial to look over before you buy your food, it is in everyone’s best interests to be aware of the nutritional facts of what you eat. A quick look at the labels on most processed foods, and we would consume much less unhealthy garbage. So check out your picks the next time you’re at the grocery store. Buj