JUST PLAIN EATING RIGHT

HOW TO READ A FOOD LABEL

Writen by Randi S. Drasin

I can't tell you how many articles I have read about the best diets of today…How to Lose Weight…What's the Right Food to Eat…What's the Wrong Food to Eat etc...But I have never once read an article on "Just Plain Eating Right" and "What to Look For on a Food Label."

All the diet programs out today are really just trying to sell you a bill of goods. They either want you to buy their books or buy their supplements or food programs. Without
really telling you what are the basics for a healthy diet. They act as a crutch so that you'll never learn the
right way and what to look for on your own.

Now, I have tried EVERY DIET there is under the sun and I can tell you from experience that no "DIET" works. You must learn to know your body. This is the key. Something that works for one person will most likely not work for the next. You must learn how to analyze the food labels so that you will know what you are putting into your body. You may end up spending a lot more time at the market at first, but in the long run you will win by being in better shape.

I have copied a label from a bag of Van De Kamps English Muffins:

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving size 1 muffin
Servings per container 6
Amount per serving
Calories 140 Calories from fat 10
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 260mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 29g 10%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 1g
Protein 5g

The labels are really very self explanatory if you take the time to read and understand it. The average diet should consist of the following percentages: 50% of calories should come from carbohydrates, 30% from fat and 20% from protein. Most people, when dieting drop so many calories from their diet that they actually put their body's into starvation mode, and will thus gain body fat. By "starvation mode" I mean that if the body thinks it's starving
it will attempt to conserve as much energy as possible, thus your metabolism will slow down in order to stay
functional and will hold onto body fat as a reserve.
When you want to drop body fat the % of fat calories in the diet should be dropped to 10-20%. Thus the % of
calories from carbohydrates too should be dropped to 30-40% and the calories from protein should be raised to 40-50%. And you should be eating 4-6 low calorie meals daily to speed up the
metabolism thus burning calories and fat.

The first 3 items on the label are fat (which includes saturated fat), cholesterol, and sodium. there is only 1 gram of fat whic is 2% of the daily value needed. There is no saturted fat and no cholesterol therefore the daily % of calories on both these items is 0.

Fats which consist of saturated fats and cholesterol if eaten in excess amounts will eventually clog the arteries causing high blood pressure and heart disease.

As you can see there are 260 mg of sodium. This percentage is high and thus your body will retain an excess amount of water if the sodium levels are high in foods. Sodium needs to be eaten in moderation so as not to raise blood pressure as well.

The last 2 items on the label are carbohydrates (which includes dietary fiber and sugars) and protein.
Carbohydrates make the body produce excessive amounts of insulin, which can lead to insulin
resistance. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas to keep the blood sugar in check.
If the body produces to much insulin it stimulates an enzyme that causes the body to convert calories into
body fat instead of burning them. Also there are 2 types of carbohydrates: complex (dietary fibers)
which consists of rice, pastas, and potatoes; and simple which consists of sugars and fruits.
All of which can raise blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cram fat into cells, change protein and
sugars into fat and cause the body to retain excess water.

The percentages of calories from the carbohydrates totals 10% for a serving of 1 whole english muffin. This is a moderate amount of carbs. Also the fact that the grams of sugar is low is exceptional because more often then not when you buy a "low fat or non fat" item it will be loaded with sugar! Which defeats the whole purpose as stated above. This item also has 5 grams of protein. Protein helps your body burn fat. There are many other sources of protein as you will read about. But too much protein (in excess of 50% of calories) over an extensive period oftime can damage the kidney and can take calcium from the bones, leading to osteoporosis.

I hope this has given you some insight into reading your food labels. But just remember one thing if you want to lose weight, ALWAYS EXERCISE.!! Exercise will help to burn excess calories. IN order to lose weight you must burn off more calories than you take in. You cannot lose weight by just dieting alone. So get yourselves on a good exercise program and meal plan. (please consult a registered dietitian with speicific questions about your body composition. Everyone is different and all metabolisms are different).

JUST LEARN HOW TO EAT RIGHT!!!!

HAPPY MARKETING!!!