Food Label Worksheet

 

I. KCalories from Protein, Carb, Fat:

grams protein X 4 = _______Kcal protein

grams carb X 4 = _________Kcal carb

grams fat X 9 = __________Kcal fat (includes sat fat & unsat fat)

Total Kcal = Kcal protein + Kcal carb + Kcal fat

 

II. Percent Kcal from Protein, Carb, Fat:

Kcal protein/total Kcal X 100 = _____% Kcal from protein (10-12%)

Kcal carb/total Kcal X 100 = _______% Kcal from carb (60%)

Kcal fat/total Kcal X 100 = ________% Kcal from fat (<30%)

 

III. Percent of fat from sat fat:

grams sat fat/grams total fat X 100 = ______% fat from sat fat (<30%)

--OR--

grams sat fat X 9 = Kcal sat fat. Kcal sat fat/Kcal total fat X 100 = ____% fat from sat fat

 

IV. Other stuff:

A. Sugar--no exact recommendation yet. Should be a small proportion of total carbs. When comparing products, look for the one with less sugar. By the way, there are lots of names for sugar. If you see any of these words in the ingredients list, cross it out and write "sugar": dextrose, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, cane juice, fructose, glucose, maltose, honey, maple syrup.

B. Fiber--daily recommendation is 25-30 grams. When comparing products, look for the one with more fiber. A general rule of thumb when buying grain-based foods (bread, pasta, cereal, rice, oatbars, etc): fiber should be at least 15% of the amount of total carbohydrates (for example, if a serving contains 20 g of carbohydrates, fiber should be at least 3 g)

C. Sodium-- daily recommendation is 2400 mg. A good rule of thumb when analyzing a food label: multiply the total Kcalories by 1. Milligrams of sodium should be less than or equal to the number you get. Up to 1.5 x Kcals may be okay for people with normal blood pressure and who are not salt-sensitive.

D. Cholesterol-- daily recommendation is 300 mg. Dietary fat (esp. sat fat) affects blood cholesterol more than dietary cholesterol; therefore, most people may exceed the cholesterol recommendation from time to time if it comes from "good" sources like eggs and shellfish. Some people are genetically sensitive to dietary cholesterol; these people should be careful to limit their intake.

E. Vit-A, Vit-C, Iron, Calcium-- don't need to know the DVs or RDAs (but check it out if you're interested!) Do need to know these are the required vitamins and minerals to be listed (in addition to sodium, which is a mineral). When comparing products, look for the one with more vitamins/minerals.

F. Following part E, above:
I just want to make sure that everyone understands that labels are only REQUIRED to list very few vitamins (A and C) and minerals (iron, calcium, sodium). However, every food will have other vitamins and minerals that are not listed unless the manufacturer opts to do so. Many manufacturers don't list them because of space/money for analysis constraints, but that doesn't mean the food is lacking. Of course, some foods are lacking.
Often, if you see a whole big list of vitamins and minerals, that's because the food has been fortified. It creates the illusion that it's healthier, but that's not necessarily true. In fact, foods are often fortified because processing has stripped them of their natural nutrients.
So, here is the message: all foods have some degree of MANY vitamins and minerals. Generally you will only see those that are required by the govt. listed. When you are trying to determine whether a food is a good source of all the other vitamins and minerals (all the B vitamins, vit. E, D and K, magnesium, selenium, etc.), look at the ingredients.
If the ingredients include abundant whole foods: whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean meats, legumes, fruits, vegetables, plant oils, then you can assume that there are reasonable amounts of a variety of vitamins and minerals. When we get to those chapters, you will be learning which specific food sources provide specific vitamins and minerals.