Food Labels

A. Food Labels: Select a food label that shows a good example of a food

from the selected category and one that shows a bad example of a food from

this category and explain why the food item is either a good or a bad

example

Often times when you go to the grocery store you pick up an item of food based on the packaging. In recent years people around the country have become more health conscious, and wanting to know that what we are consuming will keep us healthy and strong. We are all aware that there is a healthy level of fats, sugars, cholesterol and sodium, but too much can be bad.

A good example of using a label to tell a good product from the grain area of the food chart is Kashi's seven grain & sesame crackers. You can purchase these at most health food stores. With a serving size of 15 crackers you get 130 calories 30 of which come from fat. Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of this food. There is 160mg of sodium, and 22g of carbohydrates. There is also 2% calcium and 4% iron. When you first taste the cracker it is filled with grains and satisfies your taste buds as well as your conscience that you are consuming something healthy that will satisfy your hunger. Although you can eat 15 in a serving, it's doubtful one would eat that many if you were eating them as the snack they are intended to be.

An example of a label that points out the bad in something from the grain section is Nabisco's Original Triscuit cracker. This cracker is available at not only any regular grocery store, but also some convenience stores as well. The serving size is only six crackers, with 120 calories in that serving 40 of which come from fat. These crackers have 4% saturated fat compared to the 0% that Kashi's cracker had. The sodium level is 180mg, and the carbohydrates are at 19g. This cracker has zero calcium, but does have 8% iron with an added 10% of phosphorus. There are nine different types of Triscuit crackers such as herb, low sodium and reduced fat. When you take a bite of these crackers, the taste of salt will fill your mouth. In fact other then the taste of salt there is no real taste to the cracker at all.

There are websites that will help you decipher the meaning of each area of the nutrition facts on the packaging of the food you select such as http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html. You can use the Nutrition Facts label not only to help limit those nutrients you want to cut back on but also to increase those nutrients you need to consume in greater amounts.