WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN FOOD LABELS

Let’s see…do you check out the food label and nutrition list of a product that you buy in a supermarket or convenience or drug store? If so, do you do it on a frequent basis?

If your answer to both questions is yes, then you’re doing the right thing when it comes to your health. Studies show that those who check out the food label and nutrition list of the products they purchase only consume halfthe calories from fat compared to people who neglect the labels and lists. Even if this is true, reading everything on a label or list every single time is unnecessary.

What you should look at depends on your health goals. If you become physically stronger, or if you want weight loss, or you want a healthier heart, you can check out just the key pieces on a nutrition label. Here are the things you should be looking out for, categorized by objective.

For Strength Gains
Look for whole grains. Look at the list. There should be “whole” prior to words like wheat, corn, rye and rice. Millets, amaranths, quinoas and oats are also considered to be whole grains as well. These types of grain maintain the levels of energy by keeping the stability of sugar levels in the blood. Carbs that are refined and processed like sugar and flour can lead to sudden increased, and subsequent decreases in blood sugar. This leaves one vulnerable to crashing.

If you are after strength and energy gains, it is recommended that you consume an ounce of whole grains a day.

You should also search for iron on the nutrition list. The recommended amount is 1.8 milligrams or higher for each portion. Iron is needed to provide your body (especially your cells) with oxygen. This prevents exhaustion according to experts. If you’re staying away from red meat (which is a healthy practice), you should look for products that have ample amounts of iron.

The recommended consumption for iron is 18 milligrams for people who are below fifty, and eight milligrams for people above fifty.

For memory preservation
You should be searching for Omega-3 fatty acids. They are mostly on the package itself, as the products are usually advertised having them.

Cereals, eggs and juices are among the products that contain these fatty acids. Though you may see them being advertised on the front part of the product, you probably won’t see how much the product contains on the nutrition list. But some packages state the amount at the front part.

Research showed that adults who consumed omega-3 from a single fish meal weekly had a reduced likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s by sixty percent compared to adults who don’t eat fish.

A thousand milligrams of omega-3 is considered a decent amount for your everyday needs.

Also take a gander at total fat. If three-fourths is poly and/or monounsaturated fat, then it’s good. So for example, if the product has around ten grams of total fat, a good number of unsaturated fat would be around seven to eight grams. Products that have a lot of these kinds of fat, like oil and margarine, have all the numbers on their nutrition lists. You just have to do a bit of minor computations to estimate the amount of these fats. Again, three-fourths of the total fat is the acceptable amount. But if the nutrition list only shows saturated and trans fat, minus both from the amount of total fat to get the amount of unsaturated fat. It may be well worth it since studies suggested that unsaturated fat helps protect an individual from Alzheimer’s. In one of the studies, it showed that those who consumed products with around twenty-four grams of monounsaturated fat daily were eighty percent less likely to get Alzheimer’s than those who only consumed fifteen grams.

Other advantages of the consumption of unsaturated fats is lower cholesterol levels and maintenance of the well-being of the brain.

For weight loss
If you’re looking to lose excess poundage, then there’s one thing above all other that you should be looking at – calories, or the caloric content or the calorie count. If you consume five hundred calories less daily, that roughly translates to losing a pound a week. So search for products that have low calorie counts.

However, if a person finds him or herself staring at a small box of prunes that says it contains 160 calories, how will he or she know if the calorie count is too high or too low? The technique is simple. Compare. Look at other products along the same row or in the same aisle. Keep in mind how big the portions are relative to the calorie count.

You should also consider the number of servings for each product. A lot of soups contain only two for every can. Compute for double the calories if you consume a whole can of soup in a single meal.

For drinks, it’s the same principle.

Around 1,350 calories daily if you’re of average size and you don’t lead an active lifestyle. But if you work out and do a lot of physical training, 1,800 calories daily (maximum) should suffice.

Take a peek at fiber. Three of five grams for each serving. Products that contain ample amounts of fiber keep you lean. They have a lot less calories and they take longer to digest, so you feel you’re running on a full stomach for a lengthier period.

In a recent research, it was discovered that participants who had fourteen more grams of fiber in their food more than twice a week shed a pound in thirty days.

The recommended amount of fiber is twenty-five grams per day.

For stronger bones
People who want to have stronger bones should look up calcium in the nutritional lists. There should be around two to three hundred milligrams for every serving. Incorporating products with a lot of calcium into your meals is better than being dependent on supplements, according to some experts. With protein and magnesium and other helpful minerals and nutrients in your system, it can improve your body’s absorption of calcium.

For women who have gone through menopause, it was discovered that those who had calcium in their food had denser bones than those who just take calcium supplements.

A thousand milligrams of calcium per day for those ages fifty and below, while one thousand two hundred milligrams for those ages fifty and above.

Take a quick look to see if there is at least ten percent of vitamin D (daily value) for each serving. Usually, the food with vitamin D, like milk and cereal and orange juice, show it in their nutritional lists. But vitamin D is also contained in salmons, sardines and whole eggs. Vitamin D also aids in the movement of calcium in the body. Vitamin D helps the body take in more than ten percent of calcium consumed.