Understanding the Canadian Food Guide and Food Labels HOW WE GET NUTRIENTS Understanding the Canadian Food Guide and Food Labels

YOUR ENERGY NEEDS Energy from nutrients is measured in CALORIES The number of calories the body needs depends on your activity level, age, weight and gender It is recommended that you follow Canada’s Food Guide to determine the amount of nutrition you need

SOURCES OF CALORIES Carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 calories per gram Fats provide 9 calories per gram It is recommended that you get 55% of your calories from carbohydrates, 30% from fats and 15% from proteins

CALORIC NEED FOR MALES Age Sedentary1 Level Low Active2 Level 1100 1350 1500 4-5 y 1250 1450 1650 6-7 y 1400 1600 1800 8-9 y 1750 2000 10-11 y 1700 2300 12-13 y 1900 2250 2600 14-16 y 2700 3100 17-18 y 2450 2900 3300 19-30 y 2500 3000 31-50 y 2350 51-70 y 2150 2650 71 y + 2200

CALORIC NEED FOR FEMALES Age Sedentary1  Level Low Active2  Level Active3 Level 2-3 y 1100 1250 1400 4-5 y 1200 1350 1500 6-7 y 1300 1700 8-9 y 1600 1850 10-11 y 1800 2050 12-13 y 2000 2250 14-16 y 1750 2100 2350 17-18 y 2400 19-30 y 1900 31-50 y 51-70 y 1650 71 y + 1550 Females (Calories per day)

Canada’s Food Guide for Adults Aged 19 - 50 Males Females Fruit and Vegetables 8 – 10 7 – 8 Grain Products 8 6 – 7 Milk and Alternatives 2 Meat and Alternatives 3

FRUIT AND VEG SERVINGS 125 mL fresh, frozen or canned  vegetable or fruit 125 mL of 100% juice 250 mL leafy raw vegetables or salad 1 piece of fruit

RECOMMENDATIONS Eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable each day. Enjoy vegetables and fruit prepared with little or no added fat, sugar or salt. Have vegetables and fruit more often than juice.

GRAIN PRODUCTS 1 slice bread or ½ bagel ½ pita or ½ tortilla 125 mL cooked rice, pasta, or couscous 30 g cold cereal or 175 mL hot cereal

RECOMMENDATIONS Make at least half of your grain products whole grain each day. Choose grain products that are low in fat, sugar or salt.

MILK AND ALTERNATIVES 250 mL milk or fortified soy beverage 175 g yogurt 50 g cheese

RECOMMENDATIONS Drink skim, 1% or 2% milk each day. Select lower fat milk alternatives.

MEAT AND ALTERNATIVES 75 g cooked fish, shellfish, poultry or lean meat 175 mL cooked beans 2 eggs 30 mL peanut butter

RECOMMENDATIONS Have meat alternatives such as beans, lentils and tofu often. Eat at least two Food Guide Servings of fish each week. Select lean meat and alternatives prepared with little or no added fat or salt.

INGREDIENTS LIST A list of all the ingredients in a food Ingredients are listed in order of weight from most to least Food companies have to put the ingredient list on packaged foods Example: Bran Cereal Ingredients: Whole wheat, wheat bran, sugar/glucose-fructose, salt, malt (corn flour, malted barley), vitamins (thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, d-calcium pantothenate), minerals (iron, zinc oxide).

HIDDEN INGREDIENTS Ingredient lists may have “hidden” ingredients: SATURATED FAT: lard, shortening, butter TRANS FAT: hydrogenated fats and oils SODIUM: baking soda, sodium benzoate SUGARS: glucose-fructose, high fructose corn syrup

NUTRITION FACTS LABEL The Nutrition Facts table gives you information on the amount of 13 core nutrients and calories in an amount of food Almost all pre-packaged foods have a Nutrition Facts table. It looks the same on most foods.

NUTRITION FACTS LABEL When listed in grams, it must also include a familiar household unit, such as: A phrase: one slice A simple measure: ½ cup A fraction of the food:  ¼ of pizza

NUTRITION FACTS LABEL The % Daily Value is: A benchmark for evaluating the nutrient content of foods Based on recommendations for a healthy diet Used to determine the of a nutrient in a specific amount of food.

NUTRITION FACTS LABEL These foods are not required to have a Nutrition Facts table:  Fresh vegetables and fruits Raw meat and poultry Raw fish and seafood Foods prepared or processed at the store Foods that contain very few nutrients such as coffee, tea, herbs and spices Alcoholic beverages

NUTRITION CLAIMS The Government has rules in place that must be met before a nutrition claim can be made on a label or advertisement The rules for nutrition claims apply to all foods, prepackaged and not prepackaged, no matter where they are sold

NUTRITION CLAIM Source of fibre: means the food contains at least 2 grams of dietary fibre in the amount of food specified in the Nutrition Facts table Low fat: means that the food contains no more than 3 grams of fat in the amount of food specified in the Nutrition Facts table Cholesterol-free: means that the product has a negligible amount (less than 2 mg of cholesterol in the amount of food specified in the Nutrition Facts table) and it is also low in saturated fat and trans fat.

NUTRITION CLAIMS Sodium-free: means the amount of food specified in the Nutrition Facts table contains less than 5 mg of sodium Reduced in calories: has at least 25% less calories than the food it is being compared to Light: only on foods that are either "reduced in fat" or "reduced in calories"