Nutrition 101: RDVs + Food Labels
Let’s review the Nutrition Facts Label (NFL) along with Recommended Daily Values (RDVs). When we know what to look for and understand the importance of the nutrients needed to support our daily activities, we are more likely to make the best choices with our chosen foods, recipes, and food preparation.
Important Education Takeaways
Avoid trying to count every listed value. Instead try to focus on just one or two components at a time.
Simplify the process by figuring out what pieces are most important to you.
If counting all the numbers feels like an overwhelming balancing act, try focusing on one piece at a time depending on your health needs and goals.
For heart health or cholesterol control: Prioritize lower saturated fat options.
For diabetes: Choose food products with less added sugar and more fiber.
For improved blood pressure control and/or for those with kidney disease seek out less processed foods that are lower sodium.
Learn the basic components of the standard Nutrition Facts panel. These include the Serving Size, Servings per Container, and Percent Daily Values.
Serving Size: This quantity is determined by the food manufacturer. It may not be realistic compared to the amount of food that you actually consume. Try to be mindful of your portion by measuring or counting it out. If you happen to eat more or less than the listed serving size, you will need to adjust the nutrient values accordingly.
Servings per Container: This tells you how many servings are in the entire container of the food product.
Percent Daily Value: This tells you how much of a specific nutrient a single serving of that food provides. 5% or less of the Daily Value is considered low. 20% or more is considered high.
Get more of the good stuff, while identifying things you may need to limit! Consider the health benefits of the foods you are eating and choose foods that help you meet your individual needs.
Focus on food quality by considering nutrient density instead of simply counting calories. Compare the amounts of saturated fat, added sugars, sodium, or other values:
Protein: Choose foods with more protein to help you achieve the goal of 20-30 grams of protein at each meal.
Fiber: Maximize fiber intake by choosing foods made with more whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables, beans and legumes, and other complex starches. Most Americans lack adequate fiber in their diets, falling short of the recommended 25-38 grams or more per day.
Vitamins & Minerals: Opt for foods with higher counts of vitamins & minerals, especially calcium, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, and potassium.
Saturated fats: Saturated fats are correlated with increased LDL (lousy cholesterol) and cardiovascular disease. Aim to keep saturated fat intake less than 10% of your daily calories and practice swapping them out for healthier fats such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats instead.
Sodium: Sodium is used as a food preservative as well as a flavor enhancer. It is typically used in high amounts in heavily processed foods, convenience items, and restaurant meals. For most people, it is recommended to keep your sodium intake less than 2,300 mg per day.
Added sugars: Added sugars are used in many food products, even in foods that may not taste sweet. Added sugars can go by many names but they must be accounted for on the nutrition facts panel. The World Health Organization recommends limiting added sugars to 5% or less of our daily caloric intake, or less than 24 grams (6 tsp) per day. Excessive added sugar intake is correlated with increased risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.
Don’t forget the Ingredient List. Just as important as all the numbers listed above is the list of ingredients in our food products.
All the ingredients are listed in order of weight, the most prominent ingredients are listed at the top of the list, while those used in smaller amounts are listed towards the bottom of the list.
Select grain products that list the “whole” grain ingredient as the first or second ingredient, while avoiding foods that list added sugars as one of the first three ingredients.
Look out for low quality fats such as hydrogenated and palm oils.
Not all chemical ingredients are necessarily bad, many are added vitamins or minerals. Others may be food additives used to improve the food’s flavor, texture, or freshness.
When all else fails, look for food products with short and simple ingredient lists. Go for short and recognizable ingredients lists and prioritize food quality over calorie content.
Be a savvy shopper by getting to know the label lingo. Some food claims are regulated, while many others may be nothing more than a clever marketing ploy.
A few key labeling claims to recall include:
Reduced: Must contain at least 25% less of specified nutrient than standard product.
Good Source Of: Must provide at least 10-19% DV of specified nutrient.
Low Sodium: 140 mg or less of sodium per serving.
Low fat: 3 g of fat or less (and not more than 30% of calories from fat for meals and main dishes).
Understand the dates on perishable items such as meats, poultry, seafood, dairy, and packaged produce.
Best by/Use by: Indicates the date by which to consume the food for optimal flavor or quality
Sell by: Used by the grocer to determine how long to display the food
These dates are not an indicator of the product’s safety. Most food items are still perfectly safe to eat past these dates as long as they don’t look, smell, or taste spoiled. For more information, refer to the USDA Food Safety site.
Take your time at the grocery store to make sure you are choosing healthy foods that meet your desired needs.
Recipes
Recipe of the month: Food Truck Roasted Chicken
As always, this recipe is the showcase of our live taught, virtual cooking class. Our chef and registered dietitian bring the recipe to life as they walk you through food prep, swaps to meet dietary or taste preferences, plus tips and tools to support you being your own healthy chef at home.
Bonus recipe: Asian-Inspired Chicken Salad
From Jamie’s kitchen to yours, our monthly bonus recipes are published on our website and social media the 4th Wednesday of each month. We invite you to browse our recipe collection and come back often to find more flavorful and heart-healthy recipes.
We invite you to join us for the live taught, virtual nutrition classes each month to gather more information on our nutrition topics. This is also an opportunity to ask topic-related questions of our experts as well as connect socially with attendees for idea sharing. As a registered participant for our In the Kitchen program, you receive a few reminders ahead of each scheduled monthly classes, but here’s an easy to remember schedule: Nutrition Education (30-minutes, 2nd Wednesday, 12pm), Cooking Class (up to 60-minutes, 3rd Monday, 12pm).
Contributing author: Jamie Libera, RD, LD, CCTD, registered dietitian, Providence.