Check the Facts

According to a study released late last week, diet is the leading risk factor for disease and premature death in Canada, followed by tobacco smoking and obesity. We are all looking for ways to improve our diet quality, while saving time and money. One of the easiest ways we can do this is to refer to the nutrition facts table on food. Apparently, 52% of us always or very often read the label on a food before purchasing. Surely we can improve on this statistic. Yes, we are confused and overwhelmed when choosing what to purchase at the grocery store, but using the nutrition facts table is relatively quick, and certainly an easy way to choose nutritious foods. The table can also be used to choose foods which meet dietary needs, have more or less of certain nutrients, and be used to compare two or more foods to help make better choices. A problem though, is that many people incorrectly read the table. Here’s what you need to do:

Refer to the quantity of food under the ‘nutrition facts’ before jumping down and looking at the rest of the info on the table. This is the amount of food the table refers to. It’s important to keep in mind that this is not necessarily the amount of food you should eat. Rather, it’s the amount of food people commonly consume. Don’t forget to reference this to what you actually eat. Step two is to refer to the %DV, or percent daily value. It ranges from zero to one hundred, and can tell you very easily if there is a little or a lot of a specific nutrient in a food. As an example, 75mg  for sodium may sound like a high number and a lot, but when you look at the %DV, it’s only 3%, which is really just a little. For optimum choices, choose foods lower in sodium, saturated and trans fat, and calories. Choose foods higher in fiber, vitamin A and C, and calcium.

A few additional facts. The table is based on 2000 calories a day, which is about the average nutritional needs for a moderately active woman, or a couch potato man. When looking at the nutrition facts some people will keenly notice there is no %DV for protein and sugar. This is because protein intake is to be sufficient here in Canada and there is no specific guideline for how much sugar we should have. There may or may not be a %DV listed for cholesterol, as it is optional.

When you know how to read the nutrition facts, shopping for healthier foods can get a whole lot easier and faster. If your food is prepackaged, chances are it will contain a nutrition facts label. Foods exempt from this regulation include fresh vegetables and fruits, raw meat and poultry (except when it is ground), raw fish and seafood, foods prepared or processed at the store (bakery items, salads, etc), and foods that contain very few nutrients like coffee, tea, herbs, spices and alcohol.

To learn more about the nutrition facts of food without having to refer directly to the label, check out www.eatwise.ca. It’s a website and phone app that can be used to make it easy to gather ‘nutrition facts’ on the foods you eat. Search for foods within a brand or category for nutrition information that is provided for the nutrients listed on the nutrition facts table.

As seen in The Telegram March 11, 2013