Don’t let food labels fool you!
The careful scrutiny of the nutritional labels seen on the back of food package is the second best solution to healthy consumption next to eating freshly picked veggies, fruits, and sea food. Apparently though, making sense of the food packages is not as simple as you may think. Do not be fooled for there is an art behind it. Here’s how:
Read the serving size first
“Look at the serving size. This is where a lot of companies get you because you think and look at the label and see that, “Oh this bag of chips only has 40 calories. That’s perfect!” and then you read closer and figure out that it is only for eating two pieces of chips, which is not the way you eat your chips especially when you are in front of the TV,” Millie Davis of Tagaytay’s medi-spa Nurture Wellness Village explains.
Here is another example. A 16 fl oz (473-ml) soda says that it only has 96 calories. But then again, you will see that the serving size is 8 fl oz (240 ml) and the servings per container is 2.0, which means that calories will be doubled if you plan to consume it all.
Analyze the calories
On average, men need 2200 calories per day while women need 1,800. This being said, the next thing to do is look at the calorie content. Look for low calorie and low sugar content food because the sugar goes directly to and stays on your hips—forever, unless you exercise and trim down your calorie and sugar intake.
On artificial ingredients
“The more it looks like a chemistry lesson the more you should avoid it. If you cannot pronounce the ingredients anymore avoid that because it means it is highly processed,” Davies adds.
The order of the ingredients used is in proportion to their amount.
Brown is our best friend
Stay away from white (rice, sugar, bread, pasta etc.) and go for the unrefined and healthier option—brown food.
Imperfectly perfect fruit
Oftentimes, we choose the unblemished fruit thinking that the flawless one is the most nutritious. Think again! Apparently, a perfect fruit may have undergone chemical treatments hence its perfection. “The ugly banana is perfect in its imperfection,” Davis says. So the next time you are at the market, choose the spotted fruit instead because it means that it is organic.
Fats 101
Not all fats are bad for you. We need a small amount of fats because they coat the heart and our blood vessels. Mono and poly unsaturated fats are good; consume them in moderation. The trans fat and saturated fat are the worst enemies! Below is a helpful mnemonic you can memorize:
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