Sometimes, it seems as if eating right is just plain impossible. Eat too much and your body converts it to fat. Eat too little, and your metabolism will plateau, making it hard to lose weight. Should you avoid sugar? Carbs? Fat? How many vitamins do you need? Food packagers don’t make things any easier by using misleading and confusing terms to describe their products. Since it’s impossible to make a good decision without being well-informed, here are some straight facts about what packaging terms really mean and what that means for you.
Low Fat- A “low fat” product contains less than 3 grams of fat per serving. Therefore, be careful to eat only the suggested serving amount!
Fat Free- When a food is sold as “fat free,” it has less than 1/2 a gram of fat, not zero fat, as the phrase would imply.
Reduced Fat- This one is especially tricky. A food with "reduced fat" contains 25% fat less than a comparable, “normal” version of the food. This does not necessarily mean that the food is especially healthy. If a “normal” goodie has 20 grams of fat, a reduced fat one still has 15. (This explains why the reduced fat blueberry muffin at Dunkin’ Donuts is so gosh darn delicious)
Enriched- An “enriched” food is a food that has been refined, which caused it to lose nutrients, and then was infused with those same lost nutrients. At the end of the day, it has the naturally-occurring amount of vitamins or minerals, NOT anything extra.
Fortified- To get a “fortified” food, first take an “enriched” food, (which, remember, has the lost vitamins and minerals stuck back in there), and add some extra. So, fortified foods have more vitamins or minerals than occur naturally. This is all well and good, but don’t let it fool you. A “fortified” cereal might have more nutrients, but still a LOT of sugar.
High Fiber- A food that is considered high in fiber has at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. You should aim for between 25 and 35 grams of fiber a day, so don’t let one “high fiber” food replace foods that naturally contain fiber, like whole grains and fruits. Most Americans get less than half of the fiber they need!
More things to keep in mind:
Nutrition labels on food packaging are based on a 2,000 calorie diet and sometimes include numbers for a 2,500 calorie diet. These work fine as "ballpark figures", but your caloric needs are as individual as you are, based on your weight, gender, and activity level. Try a website like this one to find out how many calories you need in a day.
If you get more than the daily necessity of vitamins, your body will just get rid of most them via–a-hem–poop. Vitamin supplements can be a good way to make up what you just don’t get in food, but it’s not worth it to overdo it.
Whole grains are good for you, but food packages that trick you into thinking you’re eating whole grains are bad. 100% WHOLE wheat means whole grain. 100% Wheat does not. The Whole Grains Council has a stamp that identifies whole grain foods, look for it. Also, many foods are touting the term "Multi-Grain," hoping to confuse you; Multi-Grain does not mean whole grain.
Food can be confusing. It shouldn’t be. Arm yourself with the real meanings of these terms and remember that you can’t beat fresh, natural, unprocessed foods. Bon Appetit!
