We all want to know what’s in our food. Lately, there’s been a surge of interest to go back to “real” ingredients. Ingredients that we can pronounce and identify. That’s good, but perhaps you are trying to shed a few pounds or reduce simple sugar intake. Where do you find all that info on your favorite new all natural snack?
Thankfully, it’s required by law to put nutrition labels on edible products sold in the U.S. This information helps the consumer understand how much of what in each serving. How does this help the consumer? Well, if you are watching what you are eating, this is essential information.
Every label on a food sold in a grocery store in the US have “Nutrition Facts”. Every label will not be identical, but they show similar information about the food product.Let’s start at the top. I will use a package of roasted garlic and olive oil couscous for an example
Serving Size
Nutrition Facts typically start off with serving size. The units of …show more content…
This is what most people only look at on the back of a box but do not fully understand it. In my sample box, ⅓ cup of uncooked couscous has 200 calories. Ten of those calories are from fat. However, if I consume the entire box, I would be eating 600 calories with 30 of those calories from fat. Overall, it’s not so bad. Nonetheless, given that the average person only needs 2,000 calories per day and I’m getting 600 of it from couscous, it’s not a good thing.
Say it was a cup of macaroni and cheese? That’s a higher fat content food that gets about half of its calories from fat (and most people eat more than one cup of it at a time). According to the FDA a diet based on 2,000 calories per day, a serving size that has 400 calories or more per serving is high. Between 100-300 is considered moderate. Most Americans consume WAY more calories that is needed per day. Understanding serving size and calories can help control excessive caloric
Thankfully, it’s required by law to put nutrition labels on edible products sold in the U.S. This information helps the consumer understand how much of what in each serving. How does this help the consumer? Well, if you are watching what you are eating, this is essential information.
Every label on a food sold in a grocery store in the US have “Nutrition Facts”. Every label will not be identical, but they show similar information about the food product.Let’s start at the top. I will use a package of roasted garlic and olive oil couscous for an example
Serving Size
Nutrition Facts typically start off with serving size. The units of …show more content…
This is what most people only look at on the back of a box but do not fully understand it. In my sample box, ⅓ cup of uncooked couscous has 200 calories. Ten of those calories are from fat. However, if I consume the entire box, I would be eating 600 calories with 30 of those calories from fat. Overall, it’s not so bad. Nonetheless, given that the average person only needs 2,000 calories per day and I’m getting 600 of it from couscous, it’s not a good thing.
Say it was a cup of macaroni and cheese? That’s a higher fat content food that gets about half of its calories from fat (and most people eat more than one cup of it at a time). According to the FDA a diet based on 2,000 calories per day, a serving size that has 400 calories or more per serving is high. Between 100-300 is considered moderate. Most Americans consume WAY more calories that is needed per day. Understanding serving size and calories can help control excessive caloric