Michele Simon
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 One study showed that three-quarters of adults reported using food labels, and another indicated that people who use food labels eat more healthfully. Almost half of the people surveyed reported that the nutrition information on food labels changed their minds about buying a particular product.10 This, of course, is precisely why the idea of expanding nutrition labeling from packaged food to restaurants has industry shaking in its boots: it works. |
Wendy Bazilian, DRPH, MA, RD, Steven Pratt, MD, Kathy Matthews
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 Read food labels. Many of the best foods don't have labels but those that do offer some important information along with some confusing information, too. It can be challenging to navigate these food labels. I'll just touch on the topic briefly here because the Shopping Lists (pages 112 and 342) will guide you to the healthiest shopping choices. The number of servings in the container is an important fact to consider, and is also often a shock. Perhaps you thought that little packaged "single-serving" bowl of ramen noodles or certain other common soup cups was one serving. |
Michele Simon
See book keywords and concepts |
| One study showed that three-quarters of adults reported using food labels, and another indicated that people who use food labels eat more healthfully. Almost half of the people surveyed reported that the nutrition information on food labels changed their minds about buying a particular product.10 This, of course, is precisely why the idea of expanding nutrition labeling from packaged food to restaurants has industry shaking in its boots: it works. |
Ann N. Martin
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 Deciphering Pet Food Labels
Pet food labels can be deceiving—they only provide half the story. The other half of the story is hidden behind obscure ingredients listed on the label. Even conscientious consumers couldn't possibly detect the hidden ingredients that can be legally put in pet food, because only about half the actual contents of the pet food are listed on the label due to minimal legal regulations. In addition it is not easy to understand what the list of ingredients truly implies. The only way that I have figured this out is by unearthing the information slowly, bit by bit. |
Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
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 Figuring Out food labels." http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/labels.html (accessed January 11, 2005).
Kraft Foods website. "Low-Fat Wheat Thins—Nutrition Information." http://www.kraftfoods .com/main.aspx?s=product&m=product/product_display&u3=* * * * **4400000013* *.
Letter to Joe Levitt, Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the Food and Drug Administration. "Re: Request for Regulatory Action to Prohibit Misleading Labeling Claims by the J.M. Smucker Company," May 13, 2003.
Lifeclinic website, http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/nutrition/food-label.asp. |
| America: Drowning in Sugar, Experts Call for food labels to
Disclose Added Sugars." Press release, August 3, 1999. http://www.cspinet.org/new/sugar.html. -. "Sugar Consumption 'Off The Charts' Say Health Experts: HHS/USDA Urged to Commission
Review of Sugar's Health Impact." Press release, December 30, 1998. http://www.cspinet.org/ new/sugar.htm.
Chen, I. H. "Results of the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II)." Spine 19, no. 10 (1994): 1193-94.
Children's Hospital Boston. |
Wendy Bazilian, DRPH, MA, RD, Steven Pratt, MD, Kathy Matthews
See book keywords and concepts |
| It can be challenging to navigate these food labels. I'll just touch on the topic briefly here because the Shopping Lists (pages 112 and 342) will guide you to the healthiest shopping choices. The number of servings in the container is an important fact to consider, and is also often a shock. Perhaps you thought that little packaged "single-serving" bowl of ramen noodles or certain other common soup cups was one serving. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 This is a significant positive change for the health of not only readers, but also their families, especially children, because reading food labels is the only way to know what you're eating. Manufacturers hide so many dangerous ingredients in food labels that, unless you make a special effort to read them, you will inevitably end up consuming ingredients that are dangerous to your health, such as hidden hydrogenated oils and yeast extract -- which is an ingredient that contains monosodium glutamate -- or artificial colors and other similar ingredients. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 The key to avoiding cancer-causing foods is knowing which ingredients are carcinogens -- or cancer promoters -- and then reading food labels to permanently avoid consuming those ingredients.
Cancer tumors develop, in part, by feeding on sugar in the bloodstream. If you eat lots of sugary snacks loaded with simple carbs, you're loading your bloodstream with the chemical energy needed for cancer cells (and tumors) to proliferate. No biological system can live without fuel for its chemical processes, including cancer cells. |
Paula Begoun and Bryan Barron
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 Just as with food labels, the ingredients present in the largest amounts are listed first. Often, the most interesting or the most extolled ingredients are so far down the list that the amount of them in the product means they are practically nonexistent. Just because an ingredient appears on an ingredient label doesn't mean there's enough of it to have any impact on skin or to make a difference of any kind. |
Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Tipsheet—Reading food labels." http://nhlbisupport. com/chdl/Tipsheets/reading-labels-tips.htm. National Honey Board. "Honey's Nutrition and Health Facts." Press release, July 2001. http:// www.honey.com/pressrm/research/nutri.html. "Natural Claims." Memo from Robert G. Hibbert, Director, SLD, to Branch Chiefs, SLD, November
22, 1982. www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/larc/Policy%20Memos.pdf (see policy memo #55). The Semi-Daily Journal of Economist Brad DeLong: Fair and Balanced Almost Every Day. "Only in
California. |
Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN
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| How to Eliminate Toxins from MSG c u
<
X
Read all food labels at the supermarket. Avoid products containing MSG.
Always ask if the restaurant's dishes contain MSG when dining out.
Stay away from fast food! Most of these establishments use MSG in their fries and drinks to make them taste better and get you addicted to their foods.
Cleanse your colon regularly to prevent the swelling of the mucus membranes in the gastrointestinal tract caused by consumption of MSG. |
Craig Pepin-Donat
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 The FDA now requires the disclosure of levels of trans fat on food labels, but there is still a major loophole that actually requires manufacturers to label any food containing 0.5 grams or less of trans fats with zero trans fats. This system actually forces manufacturers to lie to consumers. Protect yourself by making it a habit to read the label of each product to see if it contains partially hydrogenated oil or shortening. If it does, do not buy it and do not eat it. Do not even think about it. Consuming trans fats is a gamble with your health and your life. |
| Web site also provides other information about food labels and how to decipher the various food-labeling loopholes employed by food manufacturers.
"Portion Control Induces Greatest Weight Loss Suma Study Finds"
Medical News Today (November 30, 2006)
"Protein: Moving Closer to Center Stage"
Article from the Harvard School of Public Health
Chapter Six
The Fitness Fabrication
Enrolling in a fitness center may prove to be the best solution for the average person. |
Andreas Moritz
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 You can detect hydrogenated vegetable oils in foods by reading the food labels. Most processed foods contain them, including breads, crisps, chips, doughnuts, crackers, biscuits, pastries, all baked goods, cake and frosting mixes, baking mixes, frozen dinners, sauces, frozen vegetables, and breakfast cereals. In other words, nearly all foods that are shelved, processed, refined, preserved, and not fresh can contain trans fats. Trans fats inhibit the cell's ability to use oxygen, which is required to burn foodstuffs to carbon dioxide and water. |
| Read the food labels and look out especially for the following chemicals:
• Sunset yellow (El 10 or FD&C Yellow 6) is a dye used in, among other foods, orange jellies and squashes, apricot jam and packet soups. It's also in Smarties, and at least one variety of Lucozade (a popular British and now also American sports drink).
• Tartrazine (El02 or FD&C Yellow 5), one of the more controversial coloring additives used in the U.K., is another yellow dye used in fizzy drinks, ice cream, sweets and jams. |
Dr. Steven R. Gundry
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 You would have to have been on another planet to be unaware of all
Beware of Artificial FatA
II III M I I I I
Not only are the fats in the animals that we eat completely different from what they were fifty years ago, we've also learned to manufacture fats unknown in nature, so-called trans fats, which appear on food labels as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Whenever your genes encounter fats they weren't expecting, as in the case of foods devoid of micronutrients, they send you looking for more, assuming that the next bite will have the real McCoy. |
Steven V. Joyal
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 All food labels are required to state the item's trans fat content per serving, although a value of zero (0) grams per serving can mean the serving contains up to 0.4 grams (manufacturers are not required to reveal any amount less than 0.5 grams per serving). Trans fats are typically found in commercially processed foods that have been prepared under conditions of high heat, such as snack foods (for example, potato chips and roasted nuts), frozen foods (including entrees, snacks, whole dinners, desserts), commercially made cookies and crackers, packaged dinners, and baked goods
? |
Bottom Line Health
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| What you can do: Read food labels carefully to determine the levels of fat and saturated fat as well as other ingredients in products that are labeled natural.
"LOW"
Many dairy products and some processed foods, such as soup, frozen entrees and snacks, use the term "low" or some variation thereof. What these terms mean...
Low fat: 3 grams (g) or less of total fat per serving.
Low saturated fat: 1 g or less of saturated fat per serving.
Low calorie: 40 calories or less per serving.
Low cholesterol: 20 milligrams (mg) or less of cholesterol and 2 g or less of saturated fat per serving. |
Jack Challem
See book keywords and concepts |
 Keep in mind that you've learned to master many complicated tasks and have read many instruction manuals. food labels are, if you'll excuse the phrase, a piece of cake. By the time you finish reading this chapter, you'll know everything that's necessary to pick healthy foods and reject unhealthy ones.
The Three Parts of a Food Label
Each box, bottle, jar, can, or bag of food contains three blocks of information: the package front, a Nutrition Facts box, and an Ingredients list. |
| To identify interesterified fats on food packages, look for the phrases "interesterified soybean oil," "interesterified vegetable oil," "fully hydrogenated oil," "high in stearic acid," or "stearate rich" in the ingredient list on food labels.
Avoid all foods containing trans fats, shortening, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.These ingredients may not be identified in restaurants, so avoid all fried foods and be wary of prepared salad dressings. |
| Before you go food shopping again, it's essential that you learn how to read and decipher the information found on food labels. If you don't take the time to read labels, it's impossible to avoid foods and ingredients that lead to prediabetes and overweight. The situation is a little like getting a new credit card without paying attention to the fine print stating the interest rate. If you ignore the fine print, you could end up paying a steep price. |
| Don't use unhealthy cooking oils
111
6
Figure Out What food labels Really Mean
We recommend that you eat mostly fresh foods. The reason is simple: fresh foods are almost always more nutritious than processed, refined, and packaged foods. Fresh foods are also much better than processed, packaged foods for improving blood sugar and weight.
You may, however, find it difficult to completely avoid the convenience of prepackaged processed foods. So how do you navigate between packaged foods that are nutritionally acceptable and those that are not? |
| We explain how to read food labels in chapter 6.
Food-Philosophy Principle #6. Eat Organic Food as Often as You Can Afford It
Organic foods are grown without pesticides and with farming methods that sustain soil quality. You can buy organic vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and eggs at natural food stores, specialty markets (such as Trader Joe's), and many supermarkets. You can even get a few organic foods at Costco and Wal-Mart.
Organic produce has higher nutrient levels for a number of reasons. |
Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Students even learn about nutrition and how to read food labels in various classes.
Dr. Butler is so intent on igniting a "wellness revolution" that on one swelteringly hot summer day, after the county signed a new pouring rights contract with Coca-Cola, she staged a one-hour standoff, refusing to permit sugary soft drinks on school premises. She finally allowed bottled water to be stocked instead.
Now, hundreds of educators, parents, and even federal agencies want to learn Dr. Butler's secrets. Her company Ennovy (www.ennovyinc. |
Bottom Line Health
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| In addition, 75% said they always read food labels. However, 42% admitted they would eat a food that had a label indicating that it "may contain" an allergen.
Teenagers are at high risk of dying from anaphylaxis. Is it because they think they are invincible or because they are forgetful?
Scott Sicherer, MD
Only 60% of teens told friends about their food allergy. And although 68% felt that educating their friends would make life easier, most did not want to undertake it themselves. |
Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| America: Drowning in Sugar—Experts Call for food labels to Disclose Added Sugars." Press release, August 3, 1999. http://www.cspinet.org/new/sugar.html.
-. "Consumer Group Petitions FDA to Require 'Diarrhea' Notice on Foods That Contain Sorbitol." Press release, September 27, 1999. http://www.cspinet.org/new/sorbitol_pr.html.
-. "Petition to the FDA to Require Better Sugar Labeling on Foods." http://64.233.161.104/ search?q=cache:u3LhCWPOT8IJ:www.cspinet.org/reports/sugar/sugarpetl. |
Bottom Line Health
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| If you are confused about the claims that manufacturers are now making on food labels, you are not alone.
"ORGANIC"
The term organic is hotly debated. The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) current definition states that organic foods are those plants produced without the use of pesticides, sewage sludge (for fertilization) or synthetic fertilizer. . .or those animals raised without hormones or antibiotics.
To read the complete definition, go to the USDA's Web site at www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/ standards, html. |
| Recent development: The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect in January 2006, requires food manufacturers to list eight major allergens on their food labels to help people who have food allergies identify and avoid problem foods.
IS IT REALLY AN ALLERGY?
Not all reactions to food are due to allergies. Tens of millions of Americans have a food intolerance, such as a sensitivity to the lactose in milk. The most common symptom of a lactose intolerance is gastrointestinal discomfort, including diarrhea, cramping and flatulence. |
| Self-defense: Read food labels and avoid products that contain sulfur, sulfites, bisulfites or metabisulfites.
Mayo Clinic Health Letter.
Inhaled Corticosteroids Get Mixed Reviews in Kids' Asthma Studies
Hans Bisgaard, MD, head, Danish Pediatric Asthma Centre, and professor of pediatrics, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark.
Theresa Guilbert, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, Arizona Respiratory Center, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Diane Gold, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, both in Boston. |
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