I always check the serving size before I eat a new packaged food, because junk foods especially can be tricky—the amounts of calories and sugar may only represent the amount in half a bag or bottle if it says that the serving size is two per container (Don't you hate that?).
Another must-check is Trans fat, which is linked with partially hydrogenated oils, or PHOs. The Trans fat in PHOs remains in the bloodstream longer than other fats and contributes to plaque formation in the arteries, which can lead to blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. It also lowers HDL (good) cholesterol and increases LDL (bad) cholesterol. I've found that PHOs dominate the cookie aisle, especially. Normally, I check the ingredients to make sure that no PHO is included even if the Trans fat level is at zero to avoid it even in its smallest quantities.
It's also important to note health benefits, as opposed to just nutritional no-nos. Fiber is extremely important for a healthy colon, and it's generally considered that items with three grams or more are good sources of fiber.
My mom also avoids aspartame and sugar substitutes, as she's big on natural products. My dad, on the other hand, is a Splenda user, saying that anti-sweetener arguments are based in superstition and not science. Call me superstitious, but avoid sweeteners simply because humans have lived with it for this long, while artificial sweeteners are relatively new products.
Do you check food labels? What do you look out for?
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Comments (19)
My rule of thumb: if I can't pronounce it, it doesn't belong in my body.
Nice post! I don't buy any foods that contain partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup in them. I am trying to avoid aspartame as well (too bad it's in sugarless gum & some of the flavored water packets). I buy many low fat foods, esp. watching out for saturated fat. I am trying to limit sugar in my cereals - trying to stick with 6 or less grams per serving (but sometimes I will let that slide to a little more than 6 if it's a cereal that I really want to get at the time). I get enough fiber in my diet, so I don't purposely try to find foods that have a ton of it. Lastly I am sort of trying to avoid Red 40 - I don't know exactly what it is, but it is artificial, I assume. Wish I knew the difference between palm kernel oil and palm oil, and which one was the "better" of the two, if one indeed is better than the other.
Good post, I'm phasing out HFCS from my diet and anything that requires to be microwaved to keep my body nice and healthy. I always make sure to look at portions sizes too to see if what I'm eating is worth the calories at all. ;P
It depends on what I am buying. I mostly check for partially hydrogenated oils and artificial sweetners.
Not really LOL. >.<
I usually just buy produce
I avoid excessive salt, sugar and fat, food coloring (they just look nasty), HFCS, the white stuff, artificial
sweetener, hydrogenated stuff and long, weird chemical ingredients
I rarely eat dairy and eggs and only eat fish or eat out and make my own milk and nut butter
so there really are not much reading and checking to do
I usually try to read the whole label the way you do.
As for the whole sugar thing, my dentist told me to get gum with a type of sugar substitute called xylitol, and now I feel bad if I ever chew non-sugar-free gum. heheh
I've been avoiding HFCS too and really watch the amount of sodium listed. Sodium has been a deal-breaker for me in alot of new foods that appear in the grocery. Just these 2 and I feel much healthier than I did a few years ago.
I usually check for calories and transfat, if there are too many of that, I'm avoiding the products :)
I always check: Calories, Fat content, Sodium, Carbs, Serving Size.
But I've read in an article somewhere that the FDA allows about a 30% discrepancy on food labels. Meaning, the label could say 100 calories but really but 129 calories without you knowing! So be careful. D:
@Rhapsodical_Hazie@xanga - Wow, I never knew that! Especially when it comes to high-calorie foods, 30% is no small amount.
Not really... I usually just buy the reduced fat version of whatever's
available. Maybe next time I'll try to reach for better snacks altogether!
yes I read the labels, espeically the amount of sugar and saturated fat.
@chickensrule4ever@xanga - I started doing the same thing about a year ago! I feel like I have a lot more energy now.
ingredients mostly, and looking at the number of servings in a container. i love how some of it is like only 40 cal per serving! amt per serving: 5 chips total servings: 25
also yeah def. avoid trans fat b/c no amt of it is good. some times ppl can still label as 0% trans fat if it's less than 1g. but that 1g can do a lot.
I check for serving size, calories, fat content, sodium, carbs, and sugar. That's mostly the whole food label >.<
yup
Well, I try to eat things without high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners like aspartame and splenda related things, MSG, anything Soy (can't trust it because most of its Genetically modified). and other things.
For a while now, I haven't used the microwave for foods. Even to warm up leftovers.
I'm a bit of a vegetarian, I don't eat meat, and don't eat eggs unless its in like sweets like cake or brownies. So I don't like eating meat too much, just because it makes me wanna gag, I never liked the taste/texture of it.
I look for all the obvious things like sodium, fat, cholesterol, calories, sugar and trying to up my intake of fiber and protein.
I just found this for my epidemiology class: http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/OtherCarcinogens/AtHome/aspartame
Seemingly, there's nothing wrong with aspartame, according to the American Cancer Society's compilation of epi studies.