Decipher the Health Claims

Have you ever been browsing the aisles at the grocery store and noticed how many food products have claims like low sodium, reduced fat, diet, good source, fat free, lean…what do they really mean?

Well, here is a quick over view of some of the most common claims and what they mean for what you are putting in your body.

no sugar added: no added sugar, including fruit juices or jam that contain sugar

low calorie: 40 kcal or less per serving

high fiber: 5 grams or more per serving, and must also meet the “low fat” claim

reduced fat or less fat: at least 25% less per serving than the regular food

low cholesterol: 20 mg or less cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving

low sodium: 140 mg or less per serving

fortified or enriched: Vitamins and/or minerals have been added to the product in amounts in excess of at least 10% of that normally present. Enriched means replacing nutrients lost during processing, and fortified refers to adding what was not originally there.

good source: means that a serving of the food contains 10% to 19% of the daily value for a particular nutrient

organic: at least 95% of ingredients by weight must meet the guidelines of no chemical fertilizers or pesticides, genetic engineering, antibiotics or irradiation

natural: the food must be free of food colors, synthetic flavors, or any other synthetic substance

lean: less than 10 g of fat, 4.5 g saturated fat and 95 mg of cholesterol per serving

I think it is important to be aware of what all the claims mean on the food we eat. Don’t just grab something because it sounds good. Figure out why it would be better than other options. Often times when something is low sugar or low fat, other things were added in order to keep the taste and texture consistent. So in the end, it might not be healthier like you think it is.

Every Morsel

For my nutrition class this semester, one of our assignments was to record what we ate and drank for 2 days. One day was a week day and one was a weekend day. There is more to it than just what we ate though – my professor had us write down what we ate, when we ate it, who we were with, how hungry we were, where we were, time we spent eating, and what we did while eating. Pretty detailed, right? I thought so.

I wasn’t too excited to have to think that much while eating. Really. But after I started doing it, I really enjoyed it. I found that it was incredibly enlightening to write down my degree of hunger, what I did while eating and who was with me. Those three things, among others, effect what and how we eat SO MUCH.

In a recent study they found that “people who kept daily food diaries lost twice as much weight or more as those who didn’t keep a tally of their meals.”

Nearly 1,700 Kaiser Permanente study participants agreed to exercise and adopt a healthy diet, but those who took the extra step of keeping track of what they consumed got something of a booster charge in their weight loss.

Overall, two-thirds of the study subjects lost nine pounds or more during the six-month study. But those who kept a food diary every day of the week dropped up to 20 pounds, more than twice as much as those who didn't record their every bite.

I don’t think it is necessary to write down everything you eat for the rest of your life in order to lose weight and maintain it. But maybe you’ve been trying to lose weight, exercise and eating well, yet pounds aren’t dropping…writing things down might be a huge benefit. It is usually the snacking and the little additions to meals during the day that add up, yet we forget about them.

There are lots of options for food diaries. Online food journals are becoming very popular. Here are a few free ones online that you can set up a profile, enter what you eat and how much you exercise and see what the outcome is:

My Pyramid Tracker
Fit Day
Livestrong

There are also a variety of options to print out and use at home. I can even e-mail you the one I used for my class. Or, a simple pen and paper work just fine! I would encourage you to write down degree of hunger and time of day with what you eat, at least for several days.

~Do you track what you eat? What way works best for you?

Lucy’s “Cut For Me Legging”

Remember the Lucy line of workout clothes that had a killer sale at the beginning of the month? Well, they kindly sent me a pair of their “Cut For Me Leggings” that are perfect for running, especially during the cold months in Utah.

Not only are they cute, comfortable, and great for any active person…you can cut them to your desired length! They feature flat-locked seams and trim lines for you to cut the legging to your specific leg length—plus the slimming, moisture-wicking strength of lucy powermax™ fabric.

I have trouble finding pants that I like to run in, so I usually brave the cold in shorts or just hit the treadmill. Not any more! I am excited to get a lot of miles out of these babies. I love the fabric and the thick waste band.

Be sure to check out the “how to” on how these pants work so you can cut them and still get no fray. Pretty great!

~Have you tried any of Lucy’s products?