Food Labels

You Become What You Eat

Reading Food LabelsServing Size: Given in familiar units and metric or SI units (in

parenthesis). All other information on label is given in terms of this serving amount.

Servings per Container: Try to relate the number

of servings with how much of this food you actually eat at one time.

Calories: This part of the panel tells you how many calories are produced if you eat one serving. Since most health agencies recommend limiting calories from fat to less than 30% of your total, the panel gives you the number of calories from the fat content.

Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium: A good rule of thumb is to limit your intake of these.

Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron: Be sure to get enough of these in your diet. Many people do not.

Reading Food LabelsPercent Daily Value (%DV): These numbers are on the label to help you manage how much of each nutrient you eat. The numbers are expressed as percents of the amounts recommended for a whole day. The recommendations are based on a 2000 calorie-per-day diet (see the bottom part of the label) Most people do not know their average daily calorie intake so the percent daily values are just guides. A rule of thumb for %DVs: 5% is low and 20% or more is high. Remember: %DVs are per serving. If you have two servings, you double the percent.

Calories per Gram: These numbers are the rounded off number of calories produced as 1.0 g of each nutrient is burned in the body. Label numbers may not add up due to rounding.

Reading Food LabelsQuestions: 1. How many servings are there in this

container?

2. On the sample label, what is the total volume of the product?

3. Calculate the total calories from all the food in this container.

Reading Food Labels4. You might think about % Daily Value as your "allowance" of that nutrient. The number on the label tells what part of your allowance this food uses up. Give the percent of your daily allowance remaining after eating one serving of this food:

a. total fatb. sodiumc. cholesterol

5. From the numbers on this label, what is the allowable daily weight of:

a. sodium intake?b. dietary fiber intake?c. total carbohydrate?

Carbohydrates (CHO)Carbohydrates are a rich source of easily – convertible energy and nutrients. All organs in your body including your brain, glands, hormones, bones and cells need a constant source of energy to perform their chemical tasks. Your digestive system, immune system and cardiovascular relies on a constant flow of food energy.

Carbohydrates make up most of our diet and supply us with

4 Calories/gram of energy.

Types of Carbohydrates and Glycemic Index

1. Complex2. Simple http://www.glycemicedge.com/glycemicindextable.html

Fats and Lipids Provide 9 Calories/gram of fuel Help digest Carbohydrates Saturated – vs – Unsaturated

Lard/animals - Vegetable Oils/Flax Seed Oil

Dairy - Fish Oil Fried Foods - Nuts

Protein Provide 4 Calories/gram of energy Aid in repairing muscles and growth of hair

and nails

Pic of my muscle ->

Calories Practice1. A person consumes 187 grams of protein,

328 grams of carbohydrates, and 47 grams of fat. How many Calories did this person eat?

2. A dessert is made from 135 grams of carbohydrates, 29 grams of protein, and 18 grams of fat. How many Calories did this person eat?

Calories practice 3. A snack bar contains 55 grams of carbohydrates and

12 grams of protein. How many snack bars could a person eat and stay under 1000 Calories for snacks?

4. The average person requires 2500 Calories a day. A can of Coca-Cola contains 150 Calories of carbohydrates. How many cans of Coca-Cola would a person have to drink a day to meet this daily requirement?

5. A serving of McDonald’s French fries contain 23 grams of fat and 68 grams of carbohydrates. A person burns 12 Cal/minute running. How long would a person have to run to burn up the Calories in a serving of French fries?