reading labels

blessing22

blessing22

New member
when we go to read the back of the can or box of food what are we looking for beside the number of calories. I mean all of the Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, Fat from calories really confuse me. So what do they mean and what do i really need to look for. I am going on about 1500 calorie a day.
 
you want to avoid trans fat at all costs- that's the stuff that will kill you...

Fat isn't a bad thing and is not something that should be avoided at all costs (it's good for your skin and hair, as well as your menstual cycle) . something like olive oil has a lot of fat in it -- but it's mainly mono unsaturated fat which is good for loweing your bad cholesterol...

things i look for... High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - it's in A LOT of things and is not good for you - and should be avoided.

I look for high fiber items... cereals better have at least 5 grams of fiber per serving to interest me.

I also look for the number of servings in a package... and realy have to decide if it's worth it- some boxes are really small... and have 5 servings in the box...

I also am trying to stay away from anything that has a lot of stuff in it that I can't pronounce.. some chemicals are necessary...for preseravatives and all... but i try to avoid those products

Sodium is important to me because if the water retention factor of it and I also have higher than i should blood pressure.. so I really try to watch that...

other than that-just use common sense...
 
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it's become my obsession... I love to read -but in the grocery store, i used to just reead the national enquirer.. now i read labels...

I cause trouble sometimes too.. last week i was amushroom pusher.. this week - I think i cost a company some business.. I was in the bread aisle as the peperidge farm man was restocking the shelves.. I picked up a loaf of bread, and read the label.. saw HFCS... and put it back - I did this 5 more times.. and he asked me what was wrong witht he bread that I was putting it back - so i said - I didn't want High Fructose Corn Syrup i my bread... which lead to 3 other women putting back the loaves of bread they had in their hands :)

I'm very bad... :(

It actually is a very good question... we're putting this food into our bodies.. it's nice to be aware of what's in that food...
 
I so agree with all the nasty things that get put into food. So many people just eat it mindlessly and don't realize how bad some of this stuff is!!! There are also many theories on whether alot of these additives make food addictive , thus a country with obesity problems! I try real hard to not buy ANYTHING for me or my family that has ingredients that an 8 year old could not read! There are times I am weak and let my kids get the Sponge Bob cookies....but that is a rare occasion. My kids generally get the health food snacks and cookies (I am not perfect!)(lol)! And I agree........high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils are the evils of this society and in just about everything people consume! READ YOUR LABELS!!!!!
 
I love this thread, I have become obsessed with reading labels and my little one (7 years old) has too. :D

Maleficent I was going through the bread aisle like that last week. I've been on whole wheat bread for some time now but I decided that I was taking my daughter off of the "Wonder for Kids" bread she was eating. She shows many symptoms of ADD but I'm not ready to do meds so I'm changing her diet completely to see what changes it will make in her focus. She's not overactive...as least no more than your typical 7 year old :p, but I am concerned about her foucs at times. But to get back on topic.... (lol) she doesn't like my bread so I was looking at Honey Wheat and was surprised to find that it wasn't WHOLE wheat flour in it! Thank goodness I read the label and didn't follow my assumptions just because it was the same brand as mine (Nature's Own). We decided on the Nature's Own Honey 7 Grain...now we're BOTH happy! :)
 
ok Maleficent since you scared off the ladies in the bread aisle what kind of bread did you end of buying???
 
Reading labels yea its an art. I have a niece on my wifes side that has to lose weight fast. something about fat collection around her liver. Anyhow she got off cokes and decided to go with Gatorade because it was only 15 in the sugar. Anyhow we had a calorie class together and she can read the labels a little better. On the bread and the HFCS, what gets me is it doesn't have to be there. I make the same bread my grandmother baked and it has enough sugar in it to feed the yeast but no kinds of HFCS. Its kinda strange, I don't want to start a conspiracy but why put the extras in that doesn't need to be there. I understand the need in some recipes where you add corn syrup as well as sugar because it makes a more stable mix and keeps down the hard crystals but just leave my bread alone.
 
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