Do you read Nutrition Fact tables

[minks]

This is the jargon on the side of your food? The breakdown of what you are eating.

This is a fantastic link to help understand what it all means.

I have always read them and knew to keep the fats, salts and sugars low but this site gave me way more insight and I think I will pay more attention to them now that I understand them better

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html#see3

[Ken Dockins]

Indeed, I read food labels, have been for quite some time. There's a wealth of detail contained there, and it's virtually free.

That's a great chart you've attached. Hope there are many who take advantage of it.

Especially for weight management, the food label represents a truly supportive guide for how to better manage the calories you are consuming.

After all, food is nothing but calories anyway... and, it's what you do with your calories that matters most.

[Richard Bell]

Making those tables mandatory is the best thing to happen in the food industry since sliced bread.

So, you're having a nice, healthy salad for lunch, eh? Well, check out the label on this single serving (43 ml/1.5 oz.) packet of Greek salad dressing :

Twenty eight freakin' grams of fat! That's 43% of the Recommended Daily Value.

You might as well have a hot fudge sundae instead.

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

Oh heck NO! I don't read them, toss in a few extra riboflavens and a few extra food colourings, I don't care, just get the container open and stuff it in me mouth, Dewey needs all the extra fat he can get. And anyway, even if you eat the most healthy foods available today, tomorrow someone will find it causes cancer, just feed the pig!

Dew

"Anything worth dewing is worth dewing well"

[Redtail]

Absolutely! And the ingredients as well........many don't realize the ingredients are listed in order of what it contains the most of. As soon as I see fructose, sugar, salt, and such as a first 1 - 3 ingredients, I put it back on the shelf. Interesting note on sugar alcohols.........being on south beach, i'm allowed foods with it, but not regular sugar.

What are sugar alcohols?

Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates which are also called “polyols." Part of their chemical structure resembles sugar, and part of it resembles alcohol -- hence the confusing name. Examples of common sugar alcohols are maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, and xylitol.

Where do sugar alcohols come from?

Sugar alcohols occur naturally in plants. Some of them are extracted from plants (sorbitol from corn syrup and mannitol from seaweed), but they are mostly manufactured from sugars and starches.

Why use sugar alcohols?

Sugar alcohols are like sugar in some ways, but they are not completely absorbed by the body. Because of this, the blood sugar impact of sugar alcohols is less and they provide fewer calories per gram. Additionally, sugar alcohols don't promote tooth decay as sugars do, so are often used to sweeten chewing gum. One, xylitol, actually inhibits bacterial growth in the mouth.

It's important to note, however, that the different types of sugar alcohols act very differently in the body (see chart below).



Can sugar alcohols cause problems?

Though the word "alcohol" is part of their name, they cannot get you drunk. But because they are not completely absorbed, they can ferment in the intestines and cause bloating, gas, or diarrhea. People can have different reactions to different sugar alcohols. Careful experimentation is advised.

How are sugar alcohols labeled?

The names of the individual sugar alcohols will be on the ingredient list of any product that contains them. They will be included in the amount of carbohydrate on the label, either in the total or on a separate line for sugar alcohols. If the product is labeled “sugar-free” or "no added sugar," the manufacturer must show the sugar alcohol count separately.

How do sugar alcohols compare to other carbohydrates?

Though sugar alcohols have fewer calories than sugar, most of them aren't as sweet, so more must be used to get the same sweetening effect. Still, there is a range of sweetness and impact on blood sugar among the sugar alcohols.

[Ken Dockins]

You're absolutely right, Richard.

And, at least by reading the food label, even if it's bad news, we can easily be enlightened by the info that exists there.

You know, the one that gets me is, even in "all natural bread," for example, although the list contains good ingredients, the natural manufacturers normally include potentially harmful chemical preservatives like BHT and potassium sorbate.

In my opinion, that sort of destroys the "purpose" of all natural fibers and grains that generally would be so helpful for us.

Just yesterday, I bought some bread from one of those "freshly made bakery" display cabins you see in stores and supermarkets. Normally, these foods contain no labeling at all because they exist in a nice, pretty display case. Yet, for some reason, I asked one of the staff, "Hey, do you know whether there are preservatives in this whole wheat bread?"

The reply was, "No, I don't." Yet, the attendant was kind enough to go back to the office and came back to me with a printed list of that food's ingredients. And, poof... there it was, near the bottom line, "potassium sorbate."

I generally attempt to eat foods without such additives because, over the years, the accumulation we consume of combined pesticides, chemicals, and preservatives gives our cells just enough foundation for cancerous or disease causing agents to thrive.

This is yet another "hidden" challenge to one's already demanding weight loss encounter. Yet, our success depends upon our knowledge and action on these things, as well.

Thanks again for your message and your time.

[Accountable]

Reading those labels are bad for your health. It increases stress levels, which is bad for your blood pressure and increases risk of heart attack ... and pimples.

[Ken Dockins]

I see your point clearly. Yep, stay away from stress... even if it means staying away from reading food labels! Yet, maybe the key is to make it fun... that is, to get what wellness info you need, siphon all the helpful tips WITHOUT stressing. Yep, that's the ticket. Besides, who needs more pimples anyway?

[Ken Dockins]

A nice, helpful food calories write-up (by Zinczenko and Goulding) appears on the worldwide web today. It talks about how you can easily expand your waistline, from eating restaurant foods. Yet, it doesn't actually tell you HOW or WHY you become over-fat as a result.

The answer is that there are many contributing factors (even from the aspect of food alone) that can tip your weight loss scale in an upward direction.

Yet, on a very personal note, nearly every individual needs a REASON or DESIRE to want to know and understand the basics of body fat processing.

And, this basically all comes down to that single, elemental factor called "calories."

You can help your body to process excess fat by "leading" yourself toward meals that have a leaner energy profile.

For example (and, as the article describes), if you have the choice between eating a ham, egg, and cheese mcmuffin... or, a multigrain bagel with lite cream cheese, which one do you choose?

Okay, SOMEBODY has to do the necessary research (and why not let it be YOU) for knowing what these calorie counts are, because, once you know your calorie counts, you can easily pick the food that supports lean-body results.

Here again, knowledge is power... because without such specific information, either you guess about your weight loss approach, or you mistakenly choose the less supportive food source.

After all, even as smart as we human beings can be, how do we simply GUESS that the mcmuffin yields 310 calories and the multigrain/lite cheese yields 530?

It's nice to "data up" for "calories down." In other words, when you want to lose weight, allow fat loss facts to work for you like second nature.

__________

(P.S.) There's some interesting diet detail at:

http://BetterBodyBusiness.BlogSpot.com