Align-ing Tip of the Month – Label Reading
It’s great to read food labels – it’s even better to understand them! There are 3 parts to a food package label.
The Marketing Label. This is when the company sells you on claims like ‘low-fat’, ‘high-fibre’, ‘whole grain’, ’0 trans fats’, ‘low in sodium’. This is the marketers’ way of selling you on a product, without looking further into what is actually contained within. Skip over the fancy advertizing.
The Nutrition Facts Label. The numbers of the product. It’s great to have a number claiming 10 grams of protein, but that doesn’t actually reflect how much of it gets assimilated into your body for your use. It may contain 200 calories, but where are those calories coming from? Altered fats or raw almonds? Use the Nutrition Facts as a general test – make sure the serving size is what one would actually eat, the calories aren’t what you would want in a day, that there are no trans fats, that the sodium intake for the day is under 1500-2000mg, and that there is lots of fibre.
The Ingredient list. This is where you really find out the dirt. Ingredients are listed from the most to the least in terms of content of the product. When reading an ingredient list, ensure you can pronounce all the ingredients and that you don’t get bored by the end of the list. Look for fewer, all natural ingredients, with no additives, preservatives, or artificial sweeteners, colours, or flavours. Know what you are putting in your body.
Check out each and every label on a food stuff that goes into your cart and your body. Make sure you are the one that decides what you want to be made of!
