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2004/10/24, 10:26 AM
The Misleading Package:
Low Carb egg salad: I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this food description recently at my favorite salad bar. Eggs are a high protein source along with fat, so when we mash them with mayo, we have protein and fat. My guess is that since so many of us are watching our carbs these days, the description was given to interest us in egg salad which doesn't contain carbohydrates unless we make an egg salad sandwich. However, the average caloric value for 1/2 cup of egg salad does contain about 300 calories!
Low Fat Fig Newton's: Fig Newton cookies contain on the average 1 gram of fat which is 9 calories. So, if our full fat cookie contains 60 calories, our fat free version contains 51. Does this sound like a big saving?
1% or 2% fat milk: When most of my new clients (me too, before I read about who regulates foods) read a carton of 1% milk, they think the 1% fat refers to the amount of fat by calories . However, it actually refers to the amount of fat in milk by volume! Big difference. I cup of 1% milk equals 100 calories which contains 3 grams of fat or 27 calories out of 100! Here we can see that reading the nutritional label is very important.
99% Fat Free meat: All meat products are regulated by the Department of Agriculture (same as our milk product above), and just like our milk product, our 99% fat free refers to 99% fat free by weight, not calories (just as our milk referred to 1% by liquid volume). What is important here is for us to read the nutrition facts label on the back of the package and check how many fat grams are in each serving (multiply 9 calories by the number of fat grams in each serving to arrive at the amount of fat calories in each serving!).
Net Carbs: Many times I've seen a misleading package that needs a calculator! Here's the simplest way for us to calculate the total amount of carbohydrates, whether they are from a natural healthy source such as fruit, or from added sugars regardless of what the package states: "If the Nutrition Facts label states that a serving of the food contains 18 grams of total carbohydrate we would subtract the fiber (ex. 6 grams) and half of the sugar alcohols 6g (ex. 3 grams) from the 18 grams to come up with an intake of 9 grams. (according to the FDA)".
Protein Performance Sports Bars: What is misleading here is this, carbohydrates are the fuel source which gives us energy for a work out, not protein! Protein's function is to repair and rebuild our tissues after the workout. When we read protein, we think of staying lean, and when we read performance, we think of high energy. If we are choosing a sports bar as a pre-workout snack, let's choose one that has mostly carbohydrate for the same amount of calories, if we want to fuel our workout while staying lean and mean!
So, here we have a few examples of a misleading package. It's up to us to look beyond the package for our health and weight management efforts (it is an effort, isn't it?).
Here's to Our Health & Fitness!
Copied for your information with the permission of June at June Fit. Thanks June:)
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THE NATURAL WAY IS THE ONLY TRUE PATH TO SUCCESS, PRIDE, JOY, HAPPINESS, LONG TERM FULFILLMENT AND SELF-ESTEEM!
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