Guest guest Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 WHAT'S IN A NAME? Sunday, 04 December 2011 Oh, I've been writing these messages for so long now. And I hope they've been helpful for you over the years. See, I try to guide you to where I'm going and...that's down the road to good health. I've always stressed how you should be well-informed when you go grocery shopping. And by that, I mean you should keep yourself educated by reading the ingredients label of all the foods you buy. LOW-FAT! NON-FAT! LITE! DIET! SUGAR-FREE! CALORIE-FREE! LOW-SODIUM! But I'm telling you, sometimes it seems these companies don't want you to know what's in their products. I mean, the print on their ingredient labels is just so small. But besides those labels, some of the companies shout from the package what their products are all about in big BOLD letters. LOW-FAT! NON-FAT! LITE! DIET! SUGAR-FREE! CALORIE-FREE! LOW-SODIUM! Oh, my goodness! What are we to make of all these claims? Well, let me give you a few pointers. When it comes to FAT...fat-free means a food has less that 0.5 grams of fat per serving. A low-fat label on the package means a food has 3 grams or less of fat per serving. Now I want you to remember, the USDA recommends that you consume less than 50 grams of fat per day. And I'm sure I don't even have to tell you that it doesn't take long for those fat grams to add up during the course of a day of eating. What if a product shouts from the label...sodium-free? Now let's talk about SODIUM. What if a product shouts from the label...sodium-free? Well, that product should have no more than 5mg of sodium per serving. A low-sodium food should have less than 140mg of sodium per serving. Keep this in mind, too: The Centers for Disease Control recommends that we keep our daily sodium intake under 1500mg daily. And what about CALORIES? If a label says the food product you're looking at is calorie-free, that means it should contain only 0-5 calories per serving. But where you have to be careful here is when artificial sweeteners are used to lower the calories in any food. Remember, something has to take the place of that sugar to make it sweet while keeping the food's calorie-count down. And so often, that replacement is a manmade chemical. I have to tell you, I avoid any foods that contain artificial sweeteners. There're just too many unanswered questions about their affects on our health. Keep reading those nutrition/ingredient labels. I hope you find this information useful for the next time you go grocery shopping. In the meantime, please keep reading those nutrition/ingredient labels. I want you all to be educated and...healthy consumers! And you will be, when you're clear about just what goes into the foods you buy. Because, remember... You are what you eat! Love, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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