Diet and Nutrition

Have you ever looked at a box of food or a food label and seen a ton of nutritional claims? Companies stating that their product is “a good source of” a nutrient or being “95% fat-free”, but do you really know what that means? Below I have listed some nutritional claims/terms and their definitions that are found on product packages and food labels.

General Terms

· Good source of: in order for a product to make this claim it must provide 10-19% of the Daily Value for a given nutrient per serving.

· Healthy: is a term used for a food that is low in fat, saturated fat, sodium, and cholesterol, and contains at least 10% of the Daily Values for vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein, or fiber.

· High: (synonyms- “rich-in”, “excellent source”) means a food provides 20% or more of the Daily Value for a given nutrient per serving.

· Less: (synonyms- “fewer”, reduced”) in order for a product to make this claim it has to have at least 25% of a given nutrient or calorie than the comparison food.

· Light or Lite: this claim means this food is 1/3 fewer calories than the comparison

· Organic: in order for a food to be able to make this claim it must mean at least 95% of the product’s ingredients have been grown and processed according to USDA regulations defining the use of fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, preservatives, and other chemical ingredients.

Energy Claims

· Calorie-free: this means that the product contains fewer than 5 calories per serving.

· Low-calorie: this means the product contains 40 calories or less per serving.

· Reduced calorie: this claim means that the product has at least 25% fewer calories per serving than the food in comparison.

Fat Claims

· Percent fat-free: a product can only use this if it meets the definition of low fat or fat-free and must reflect the amount of fat in 100 grams. For example, a food contains 2.5 grams of fat per 50 grams can claim to be “95% fat-free”.

· Fat-free: (synonyms- “zero-fat”, “no-fat”, “nonfat”) a product must be less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.

· Low fat: this means that the product contains 3 grams or less of fat per serving.

These are only a few of the terms thrown on food packaging. Next time you see one of these terms you will actually know what they are claiming!

Encouraging a healthy lifestyle for children.

Our society is busy which makes us obsessed with foods of convenience. In attempt to help our society embrace their busy schedules while trying to battle our obesity epidemic and diet-crazed society, food companies developed the infamous 100-calorie snack pack. Have you really taken a look or thought about why you are buying these items? Below I have made my own personal pro and con list for these snack packs.

Pros:

· Pre-portioned which helps you control your portion size.

· Convenient, easy to grab and take with you packaging, and they do not need to be refrigerated.

· They taste pretty good.

· Most of the different kind of snack packs are trans-fat free, low in fat, sugar, and salt.

Cons:

· Highly processed foods that provide little nutritional value. You could eat the same amount of calories by eating a tennis ball-sized apple and a tablespoon of peanut butter, a handful of nuts, or a package of yogurt.

· Small quantity… you’re really not getting that much food in these 100-calorie snack packs.

· Not filling, could find yourself eating multiple packs to satisfy your hunger or cravings.

· If not careful, easy way of adding additional calories without providing any nutrients/nutritional value.

· Not that cost effective. You are paying for packaging and convenience. It would be more economical for you to buy the large quantity bag and personally prepackage your snack packs.

· Not all of the 100-calorie snack packs are created equal. Some of the snack packs are better choices than others. Read the label to see what you are or are not getting.

This is my personal pro and con list and I just don’t think it’s worth purchasing these. I would rather consume my 100 calories in a more filling and satisfying way. The decision is yours, I suggest you take a look at my list, make your own pro and con list, and read the food label of these snack packs before you purchase these items.

Dr. Wayne Andersen is back with his third guest blog for July. Dr. Andersen is the medical director for Medifast and the author of the soon-to-publish Habits of Health (watch for that interview in August!). While you can catch Dr. Andersen here at DietsInReview.com through the month of July, you can keep up with him regularly at his site, DrWayneAndersen.com.

The first thing to keep in mind is that it all starts with controlling the energy inside the equation. You must control your calorie intake and be cognizant of the calories you are consuming. Low calorie foods with high levels of nutritional value allow you to eat every three hours. Eating regularly like this keeps the rate of your metabolism going; therefore, your body burns the calories you put into it more efficiently. Eating low-calorie, low-fat foods that are high in vitamins and minerals also gives you more control when determining your food portions. If the foods are low in calorie, then you can eat more, but that also means that if the foods you eat are high in calorie, you must exercise portion control to eat less of them.

The second tip I have for you is to control the type of calories you put in your body. One choice in life that we have the most control over is that, and we can decide what we put in our mouths. You decide what you are going to eat. You can learn to pick foods that are healthy, but simple. And I am confident you will soon learn to enjoy eating these healthier foods.

Eat a diversity of foods that are nutrient dense, but not energy dense. What I mean by this is that they are low in calories (energy) but high in healthy nutrients. For example, a cheeseburger, fries and fudge sundae is high in energy, but very low in nutrients. Low glycemic, nutrient dense foods fill you up, allow you to eat a lot, but are not energy dense. Instead eat something that is high in nutrients, but low in energy or calories.

The third and final tip I have for you is that in order to support a healthy weight you must follow a system that supports your daily choices. Eating healthy is easy to do in theory, but our daily lifestyle can make it difficult. Because of this you must keep these healthy eating habits in mind every time you are hungry or sit down to eat something. You must follow them at every meal to get real results… not just every once in a while.

Catch Dr. Andersen’s other featured Guest Blogs:
The Pros of Portion Controlled Meal Replacements

Optimal Health Defined

Believe it or not, eating healthy isn’t that difficult. It really comes down to being consistent, being disciplined, and retraining your taste buds. Below are some simple, basic components to healthy eating.

Eat a variety of foods. Try not to get into a rut with what you eat. Branching out by buying and sampling new foods is a great way to incorporate new foods into your diet and helps guarantee that your body receives all the different vitamins and minerals it needs.

Eat as many fresh foods as possible. The best way to achieve this is by increasing the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables you eat on a daily basis and limiting the amount of processed foods (chips, baked goods, prepackaged meals, etc) you eat.

Consume as many whole-grain, whole-wheat items as possible. Whole-grains provide your body with good carbohydrates and provides a significant source of fiber, which helps play a major role in preventing cancer and disease.

Limit your fat, cholesterol, and sodium intake.

• With fat, the point is to limit the amount you eat and the fat you do eat should be from healthy sources. Healthy sources of fats include: seeds and nuts, avocado, peanut butter, vegetable oil (i.e. olive, canola, peanut oil), and fatty fish.

• Cholesterol comes from animal sources. Common sources of cholesterol include: meat, cheese, butter, eggs, and milk. I suggest consuming more lean sources of meat, consuming low-fat or fat-free milk and cheeses, and reducing the amount of butter you use.

• Sadly, the biggest benefit of limiting your sodium, or salt, intake cannot be seen or heard. Sodium is one of the biggest contributors to high blood pressure and heart disease. By reducing the amounts you consume, you are really helping your body’s chance of not developing these two life-altering conditions.

Do not completely eliminate a food group. The well known food group people eliminate is carbohydrates, but are you aware of the common side effects of eliminating carbohydrates? These include: constipation, irritability, moodiness, and loss of energy. Any diet that encourages you to completely eliminate a food item is not taking your health into consideration.

There is no one easy way to achieve optimal health or make you lose weight, rather the point is to make healthy nutrition part of your lifestyle. The information above will help you lay the foundation and provide you with the tools to being and eating healthy.