Read those food labels – they may save your life!

Give yourself the gift of reading ingredient labels. What you eat is a choice; reading food labels helps you make an informed choice.

Remember sugar, sucrose, dextrose, lactose, fructose, high fructose, honey, maple syrup and corn syrup are all sugars . Sodium , the ingredient in salt that is linked to hypertension, is found in salt, monosodium glutamate, baking soda, baking powder, seasoned salts, sodium lactate and meat tenderizer. One of your bonus discoveries in reading labels is discovering that some stores routinely plump all of their meats with saline solution! Saline – that’s another form of salt, of course.

The Nutrition Fact label on foods will list all required nutrients as a percentage of daily value per serving. Percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. The actual number of calories you need may be more or less to maintain your body. If you aren’t happy with your current nutrition, call Dr. Jen to assist you in planning out your calorie intake and nutrition.

Actual serving sizes often vary from the servings listed in the Nutrition Facts. For example, the Nutrition Facts on a 14.75 ounce can of salmon lists 7 servings per container. Yet the same label displays a recipe that yields four salmon burgers. The sodium listed for 7 servings is 11%, but the sodium in one salmon burger is 19.25%

Some products lower one ingredient, for example fats, while raising another, such as salt, to compensate for the loss of taste. For example, the traditional Best Foods Mayonnaise recipe has 4% sodium per serving (1 tablespoon). Best Foods Light Mayonnaise boasts half the calories and fat however the sodium increases to 5% per serving.

Do you ever stop to wonder if you should choose fresh, canned or frozen products? Several studies suggest that frozen and canned vegetables may offer nearly the same nutrition as fresh vegetables. Surprised? In many cases the nutritional loss suffered during the canning or freezing process is similar to the nutritional loss suffered during transportation for fresh products. In general, however, canned products do have more salt than their fresh counterparts.

Give yourself the gift of reading ingredient labels. When you choose to put healthy food in your cart, you take home healthier food!