THE TRUTH ABOUT FOOD LABELS

Daily Maximums Fat: 45g – 75g per day depending on weight, sex & activity level; try to eat good fasts; avoid saturated fats Sodium: less than 2300 mg; 1500 mg if you are over 51 or if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Sugar: 24 g (women) – 36 g (men) Avoid: Trans Fat – linked to colon, breast & prostate cancer; heart disease, diabetes, and stroke High Fructose Corn Syrup – linked to dental problems, heart disease, obesity, cancer, dementia and liver failure

GOOD SOURCE OF FIBER In 1999, when the Whole Grain Health Claim was originally approved, It allowed foods containing at least 51% whole grains to carry the statement that diets rich in whole grains, saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers. Brown rice is a healthy 100% whole grain food. It gained it ‘rights’ in the whole grain universe on May 6th 2008, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed to allow brown rice to bear the Whole Grain Health Claim. The reality behind brown rice is that it’s easier for the stomach to digest. It’s lighter than white rice. It is rich in Selenium, which reduces the risk of developing common illnesses such as cancer and heart diseases. Its high in Manganese, which helps our body synthesize fats. It’s rich in naturally occurring oils, which are beneficial for the body as these healthful fats help normalize your cholesterol levels. It is also high in fiber. It’s on the top of the list for foods that can help prevent colon cancer. Foods such as pastas, rice, any type of noodle, nuts, rice pancakes, cat and dog food and even some types of yogurts.

The claim being made about Multigrain is that it contains two or more different types of grains in the product. It can be in wheat, barely, rice, oats, flax and corn. There are so many different healthy nutrients that could be put into it and people think it is healthy. People may get confused with the difference between multigrain and whole grain. The difference is multigrain takes all the good nutrients and does a refining process that takes all the good nutrients. What is left is endosperm, which is the unhealthiest part of the grain. They also add food colouring to make it look like whole grain. The healthy option is whole grain, as they do not put the grains through the refining process.

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS What claim is being made?   The claim being made with Omega- 3 fatty acids is that eating oily fish twice a week may help prevent heart attacks in people with angina, and prevent cardiovascular disease.   Why is the claim being made?   The claim is being made because they want people to think that Omega- 3 fatty acid is the healthier than other Omega fatty acids.   What is the reality?   The reality a small amount of fish may help to reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack but increasing your intake of fish to more than two servings per week is not likely to prevent heart disease.

CHOLESTEROL FREE The claim being made is that it is cholesterol free, when its not. They are putting fat free, low fat when really there is fat and they used different things that are just as bad as fat. Because cholesterol can clog, harden and narrow your arteries. This can be fatal in the long run. Eat foods with high cholesterol for a large amount of time can build up in your arteries. Then one day it will completely clog your arteries and you’re dead. So saying that this food is cholesterol free, would mean that there would be no risk of clogging your arteries. Cholesterol free doesn’t literally mean “NO” cholesterol, it means there’s less than 2mg per serving. Cholesterol is made by the liver so only products like meat, dairy, eggs, and butter can contain it. If a plant-based product (such as corn oil) thus its cholesterol-free status, there’s no benefit compared to other vegetable oils, which also don’t contain it. Peanut butter Mayonnaise – why companies started putting “Real Mayonnaise” , PAM cooking oil spray

MADE WITH REAL FRUIT Claim: Made with Real Fruit Why: People like the idea that what they are getting has some nutrition in it. The more you convince the target market that what they are buying is healthy, the more business you’ll have. Reality: Food companies have to put nutrition facts such as cholesterol, salt and fat content on their labels, but don’t necessarily have to do the same thing with how much fruit they put in their products. So you could be buying a fruit snack with only 5%-10% of actual fruit.

FREE RANGE Method of farming where the animals go outside for part of the day instead of being caged inside 24/7 (can apply to meat, dairy and egg farming).2) There's a diet for "semi-vegetarians" who only eat foods that come from free-range farms. Some producers use varying terms to describe free range, such as; cage-free, free-running, naturally nested etc. Knowing your food came from someplace where it wasn't mistreated, knowing it spent its life outside instead of locked indoors, with no sun or grass can make some people feel better about what they're buying and might make them buy the "free range" chicken instead of another kind. Regulations don't have limits to amount of land livestock can range on, nor do they regulate how long they can/need to stay outside. This is all decided by the producer of that product. So producers could be letting their animals out for 5 minutes in a fenced garden-sized lot and it could still be called "free-range". "Pastured poultry" is sort of the opposite of free range, it's when chickens grow and spend most of their time outside with shorter amounts of time indoors. Some farms 'de-beak' and trim off the toes of their poultry. Technically free-range eggs have a yellower yolk, but that could also be due to the chemicals they've been fed.

And remember, the healthiest foods don’t have labels!!