8 Food Shopping Mistakes
After taking a tour of the store and comparing package claims with the Nutrition Facts Panel, we found 8 common mistakes that can sidetrack you from a more healthful diet. Here they are:1. Did You Check the Serving Size? - Package looks like one serving but is more than one serving. Examples include: candy bars, bottles of tea and soda, snack packages of crackers and cookies. One 20 ounce bottle of tea says 90 calories per serving but since the bottle is 2.5 servings you are taking in 225 calories.2. Are You Misled By the Title? - Lean, Natural, Organic, Energy, Grain - all of these words sound good, but are the Nutrition Facts on target for a food that is low in fat, salt and sugar?3. Beware of Your Assumptions of “Healthy” - Turkey and chicken are not always healthful choices because they can be high in fat and sodium; some yogurt products are comparable to ice cream with their sugar and fat content!4. “Sort of Healthy” Claims Not Backed Up By The Facts - Whole Grain and Reduced Fat may contain a lot of salt, fat and sugar.5. Too Many Calories? - Look at the Nutrition Facts label for large items like cakes, packages of cookies and some frozen dinners - how many total calories are you buying?6. Too Much Sodium? - Check the daily value and try to find items that have 5% or less of the daily value for sodium, especially with canned goods, boxed rice and pasta mixes, frozen dinners and many grain products. .7. Too Much Sugar? – soda, cereal, more. 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon. A package of cereal that shows 12 g of sugar means that you are getting 3 teaspoons per serving!8. Look At Saturated Fat and Trans Fat – Trans-fat free can be high in saturated fat!
| Package says: |
| One serving of whole grain for a toaster pastry |
| Nutrition Facts says: |
| Serving Size: 1 pastry (50 g) |
| Servings Per Container: 8 |
| Calories: 200 Calories from Fat: 64 |
| % Daily Value |
| Total Fat 7g 11% |
| Saturated Fat 2g 10% |
| Trans Fat 0g |
| Cholesterol 0mg 0% |
| Sodium 170 mg 7% |
| Total Carbohydrate 34 g 11% |
| Dietary Fiber 3 g 12% |
| Sugars 14 g |
| Protein 3g |
| This breakfast treat contains 200 calories per 1.78 ounce pastry. It is calorie dense and high in fat and sugar for its size. Consider: |
| • For comparison, oatmeal contains just 147 calories and 2 g of fat per cup (8 ounces)! |
| • And one donut contains 190 calories with 11 grams of fat - so this breakfast pastry is similar to having a donut with regards to calories, fat and sugar. |
