Another Scene TODAY'S SCENE Read food nutrition labels closely By R.J. Ignelzi Copley News Service Forget Oprah's latest book club selection. Never mind what's topping the New York Times best-seller list. The must-read for nearly everyone is thought-provoking, empowering and available on nearly every grocery store shelf. It's the nutrition label on most food products. While it's not as captivating as a Stephen King or John Grisham novel, reading and utilizing this material on a regular basis may make you and your family healthier. WELL READ - Your health may depend on how closely you heed your food's nutritional labels. CNS Photo by Crissy Pascual. "Reading a food label can guide you to better food selections," says Christine Zoumas, a registered dietitian and a senior nutrition researcher at the University of California San Diego Medical Center. "There are certain nutrients you want to limit, like saturated fat and cholesterol, and other nutrients you want more of, like fiber. By reading the nutrition facts on the labels you can compare different products and make sure you're getting (the healthiest ones)." PORTION SIZE TIPS - Other keyword: Serving, weight, health, fist, light bulb, mouse, baseball, thumb, dice   However, for many consumers, today's nutrition labels with the long lists of numbers, percentages and stock "nutri-speak" phrases only offer up a heaping helping of confusion. In order for food labels to help you achieve a more healthful diet, you need to be able to translate them into language and concepts that are meaningful to you. That doesn't mean you have to walk around the grocery store with a calculator and a dictionary. By simply zeroing in on a couple of label items and looking at how these fit into your daily diet, you'll get the biggest nutrition bang for your buck. The first thing you should focus on is the serving size listed at the top of the nutrition facts box. "Nothing else matters if you don't know what size serving you're talking about," Zoumas says. "In order to interpret all the nutrients and calorie information, you must look at the serving size." To avoid misleading consumers into believing a food is low in fat or calories by unrealistically reducing the listed serving size (for example, a candy bar that's supposed to count as three servings), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has standardized most food serving sizes. The agency says the serving sizes must be reasonable portions, in a weight or household measurement that's easy for people to understand, Zoumas explains. However the listed serving size may not always reflect the portion size people actually consume. "The (listed) serving size for most drinks is 8 ounces. But, most of us are looking at 16-ounce or 24-ounce drinks. The serving size for Oreos is two cookies. But, for many people, one serving is a lot more than that," says Patti Wooten Swanson, nutrition, family and consumer adviser for the University of California Cooperative Extension Service of San Diego County. "You have to take this into account when comparing the calories and other nutrients of different products. If one is larger or smaller than the other it can make a big difference (in nutritional values). "In addition to noting the calories for a serving, it's important to check out the nutrients you want plenty of - fiber, calcium and vitamin C - and those you want to limit - saturated fat, trans fats, cholesterol and sodium. Nobody expects you to memorize all the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) for each nutrient. Instead, check out how nutrient-rich or -poor a product is by reading the percent of daily values, listed as percentages next to each nutrient. Based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, the percent of daily values shows how much of a nutrient in one serving contributes to the recommended daily intake of that particular nutrient. So, for example, if you see that the amount of calcium in one serving of a food supplies 38 percent of your calcium needs for one day, you've got a winner. You're more than a third of the way to satisfying your bone-building calcium needs for the day. However, if you see that a single serving contains 46 percent of the recommended intake of saturated fat, consider putting it back on the shelf. Saturated fat is one of the nutrients we need to limit in our diet, and getting half of the recommended daily amount in one serving is asking for trouble. People with certain health conditions or concerns should pay close attention to those nutrients that may affect them. Diabetics should concentrate on the sugar and carbohydrate amounts. People with hypertension should focus on keeping the sodium low. Those with heart problems need to watch their saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol grams. And women should look for products offering as much calcium and vitamin D (if listed) as possible. In addition to offering long lists of numbers and percentages for the nutrient content of a product, food makers can also make nutritional claims. Often found on the front of the package in big, bold lettering, these claims aren't just random advertising hype to help attract shoppers. Regulated by the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the claims have to be substantiated by the nutritional facts. READING FOOD LABELS - Serving size: Pay attention to this and the number of servings in the package. The size of the serving on the food package influences all the nutrient amounts listed on the label. - Calories: The number of calories this food contains for the stated serving size. (You have to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of body weight.) - Percent of Daily Value: Shows how much one serving of a nutrient contributes to the total daily recommended intake of that nutrient for a 2,000-calorie a day diet. - Total fat: Should make up no more than 20 percent to 35 percent of your total calories. Saturated fat and trans fats raise cholesterol and increase risk of heart disease and stroke. The American Heart Association recommends consuming less than 7 percent of total calories as saturated fat or trans-fat. Most fat should come from monounsaturated or polyunsaturated sources (fish, nuts, canola and olive oils). - Cholesterol: Too much of it in your diet may lead to too much of it in your blood, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. Consume less than 300 milligrams per day. People with heart disease, high LDL (bad) cholesterol levels or who take cholesterol medication should consume less than 200 milligrams per day. - Sodium: Healthy adults should consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day (about one teaspoon). African-Americans, older adults and people with high blood pressure should consume less than 1,500 milligrams per day. - Total carbohydrates: This listing includes the healthy carbs (whole grains, fruits and vegetables) and the unhealthy or refined carbs (sugar). Try to keep the sugar grams low and load up on the fiber. Adults should eat 21 to 35 grams of fiber daily. Soluble fiber (oatmeal, barley, dried beans) can help lower cholesterol levels. Insoluble fiber (whole grains, fruit and vegetables) protects against bowel disorders and may help digestion. - Protein: The government food safety advisory and regulation panels don't offer any daily value percentages for protein since getting enough of it has not been a problem in the American diet. - Vitamins and minerals: Only two vitamins (A and C) and two minerals (calcium and iron) are required on the food label. Manufacturers can voluntarily list other vitamins and minerals in the food. Merrie Monteagudo contributed to this story. - - - TOP       Web HaLife.com Copyright ©2007 by HaLife.com E2.1S

SIDEBAR Well read: nutritional claims By R.J. Ignelzi, Copley News Service Here are some claims you'll likely find on some of your favorite foods and what they mean. - Calorie claims: Calorie free: less than 5 calories; low calorie: 40 calories or less; reduced calorie: at least 25 percent fewer calories per serving when compared with the original or similar food. (This does not mean this version is low-calorie.); light or lite: one-third fewer calories per serving or 50 percent less fat of the regular version. - Sugar claims: Sugar free: less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. May or may not contain artificial sweeteners; reduced sugar: at least 25 percent less sugar than the original or a similar product. (This does not mean this version is low-sugar, which is not a regulated claim.) - Fat claims: Fat-free: less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving; Low fat: contains 3 grams of fat or less per serving; reduced fat: must contain at least 25 percent less fat than the original or a similar product. (This does not mean this version is low-fat); trans-fat free or 0 grams trans fat: no more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. If you see "hydrogenated" in the ingredients list, the food contains at least some trans fat. - Cholesterol claims: Cholesterol free: less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving; low cholesterol: 20 milligrams or less of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving. - Sodium claims: Sodium-free: less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving; low-sodium: 140 milligrams or less per serving; very low sodium: 35 milligrams or less per serving. OTHER CLAIMS Other nutritional phrases found on food packages are also regulated by the government and need to be borne out by the facts. These include: - Good source of --: A serving that contains 10 percent to 19 percent of the daily value for a particular nutrient. - Excellent source of --: A serving containing 20 percent or more of the daily value for a particular nutrient. - Lean: A meat, poultry or seafood item that contains less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 3.5-ounce serving. - Extra lean: Less than 5 grams of total fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 3.5-ounce serving. - Gluten-free: Not currently an FDA-regulated claim, but is scheduled to be by the end of the year. It will mean that the food does not contain any of the gluten-containing grains, including wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. This nutritional claim is of particular help to people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine. - Organic: This term described the way some foods are produced and processed. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy must be from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones, are fed organic feed and have access to the outdoors. Organic plant foods must be produced without most conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetics or sewage sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation. Since 2002, foods bearing the organic label come from farms certified as such by USDA-licensed inspectors. Some foods are labeled 100 percent organic in which every ingredient must fit into this USDA definition. Foods that are generally labeled organic must have at least 70 percent of their ingredients produced according to the definition. - Free range: Food from an animal raised with some access to the outdoors. Doesn't necessarily mean the animal roamed free in a pasture or was raised on a small farm, however. - No hormones: Commonly found on milk and beef products, this term means the animal was not raised using hormones, such as recombinant bovinesomatotropin (rBST), to increase weight or milk production. HEALTH CLAIMS The FDA has approved health messages that describe a relationship between a food or nutrient and a disease or health-related condition. A couple that we often see on calcium-fortified or low-fat foods include, "Foods which are high in calcium have been shown to reduce the risk of osteoporosis," or "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease." The seven authorized food/health relationship claims include: - Calcium reduces the risk of osteoporosis. - Fiber-containing grain products reduce the risk of cancer. - Fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of cancer. - Fruits, vegetables, grain products that contain fiber reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. - Fat increases the risk of cancer. - Saturated fat and cholesterol increase the risk of coronary heart disease. - Sodium increases the risk of hypertension. Visit Copley News Service at www.copleynews.com.