Food Labels That May Sound Legitimate, But Aren’t
Is it worth the extra cost to purchase products with labels touting natural, organic, GMO-free, and so on?
In many cases, you are likely wasting dollars.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified and defined three categories of claims that can be used on labels. The three categories are health claims, nutrient content claims, and structure/function claims.
Health claims relate a connection between a food or ingredient and disease risk. For example, an approved health claim would be foods high in calcium and vitamin D claiming “helps promote bone health”.
Nutrient content claims reflect the quantity of a nutrient in food. For example, fat free is a nutrient content claim, as is the term “lite” which reflects a comparison to another food.
Structure/function claims describe the role between a nutrient to a nutrient deficiency disease. For example, the statement “fiber maintains bowel regularity”. There are additional parameters around using these claims, such as including disclaimers or additional information on the labels.
It all boils down to companies trying to get your hard earned dollars by using labels to entice you into purchasing… and causing a whole lot of confusion as we try to decipher these claims.
I’m overwhelmed just reading through all the FDA information as I prep to share this with you. Ugh.
Let’s talk about the most prevalent claims.
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Hidden Calories in Beverages
If you are working to lose weight you need to make adjustments to your food choices. However, don’t forget what you drink has an impact on your success also. There can be a surprising amount of calories in beverages.
Let’s say you are reducing your calorie intake to 1500 calories per day. If you stop at Starbucks for a 16 oz Vanilla Frappucino with 2% milk, a 12 oz. can of Dr. Pepper with lunch, and a 16 oz. sweetened ice tea with dinner, you’ve consumed around 565 calories just from what you drank. . . and this is assuming you consumed water between meals. That leaves you just 935 calories to “spend” on food for the day if you are going to achieve your goal of 1500 calories per day.
1. Portion size
Keep your portion sizes small. For example, you do not need a 12 ounce glass of juice in the morning, cut back to 6 ounces of fruit juice or better yet replace the juice with a piece of fruit. A 12 ounce glass of juice contains 192 calories.
2. Read food labels correctly
National Nutrition Month – Free Gift
March is National Nutrition Month – Are you thinking about what you are eating?
I wanted to add a quick note to my blog about a free gift I am offering this month for new clients that sign up for the Balance Program. The Balance Program provides clients with 9 weeks of nutrition coaching. Weekly topics include:
- Lose weight without diets or counting calories
- What foods to eat to lose weight, reduce aging, and boost your energy
- Simple ways to balance your meals for weight loss
- Strategies to improve your metabolic rate
- How much and what kind of exercise you need
- How to tackle emotional eating
- Healthy convenience foods
- Scanning food labels for the healthiest products
- And more!
When you sign up during the month of March you will receive The Journey from Comfort to Possibilities by Stefanie Zizzo. This gift is valued at $29.95. So, if you are looking for help with balancing your food choices, check out the Balance Program further at http://eNutritionServices.com/weightloss.html.
