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, but in the long
run you will win by
being in better shape. I have copied a label from a box of Bavarian
Sourdough Pretzels:
NUTRITION
FACTS
Serving size
Servings per container
Amount per serving
Calories 110 Calories from fat 0
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 490mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 23g 8%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars Less than 1g
Protein 3g
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 no fats and no cholesterol grams 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. But as you can see there are 490 mg of sodium. This percentage
is extremely high and thus your
body will retain an excess amount of water if the sodium levels are
high in foods.
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 14% for a
serving of 2 pretzels. 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 3 grams of protein. Protein helps your body burn
fat. There are many sources of protein a
s you will read about. But too much protein (in excess of 50% of calories)
over an extensive period of
time 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. You cannot lose weight by
just dieting alone. So get yourselves on a good exercise program and
meal plan.
HAPPY MARKETING!!!
