I think it’s important to sit down and put all this nutritional info into realistic context.

I had a conversation the other morning with a group of women I hold in very high regard.  They are a compassionate, ambitious, and discerning group and they had an excellent point to make.

These women have been eager to learn more and more about decoding nutrition labels and making healthful decisions about the foods they bring into their homes.  They described recent shopping visits (now as avid label reading consumers) as empowering, eye-opening, disheartening, sometimes disgusting, and, in the end, totally depressing.  They were, it seemed, dismayed that so many of their favorite foods were downright harmful to their health.  The chant – “Ignorance is Bliss”.

Once you know what to look for – the rotten stuff on food labels – and you can’t  pretend you don’t see it, there’s no turning back.  It’s just like being a committed recycler and then visiting a location that doesn’t facilitate recycling of your morning paper.  You can’t simply throw it in the trash.  You’re tempted to put it in your suitcase and cart it back to your hometown for proper disposal!

Food label reading is the same thing.  Now that the high fructose corn syrup, the hydrogenated oils and trans fats alerts are in your head, you simply can’t shake them out.

The reality is – for the new label reader, it does get easier.  Grocery shopping becomes an adventure, an expedition perhaps?  My kids get a kick out of correcting  me and/or my husband when we inadvertently place a “non-okay” (kiddo term) item in the cart during a shopping excursion.  Taking charge over what we CHOOSE to take in can make you feel refreshingly capable, no matter what your age.

On every nutrition panel, the first line item highlights Serving Size. 

Be honest with yourself here.  My cereal bowl in the morning certainly contains more than 1 measured cup full of cereal.  I need to recognize that all data reported in the nutrition panel on the side of my cereal box reflects analysis based on 1 cup (considerably LESS than what I’ve served myself). 

Another example – I read the nutrition label on a packaged frozen chicken pot pie at the grocery store recently.  When I looked closely, I noticed that it stated a serving size as 1/2 of the pie, i.e. that tiny box was meant to contain TWO servings.

Who buys a small chicken pot pie and doesn’t eat the whole thing?

It’s important to pay close attention to this very first item on the Nutrition Facts panel, because all further information is linked to the specific amount of food listed.

Let’s start talking about food product labeling and the claims that food manufacturers post on their packaging.  A key tip – the claims on the front of a package of your favorite food are just that – claims. 

When the front of the package states “Reduced Fat”, “Light” or “Low Fat”, keep in mind that the manufacturer may have added loads of sugar to the item instead.  If the label states “No Cholesterol”, that means no animal fat may have been used in making the product, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s low in fat. 

The real info is on the nutrition panel and ingredient list.  On that ingredient list, items appear in descending order from largest to smallest amounts.  The longer the ingredient list, the more processed and unhealthy the food is.  Focus on nice short ingredient lists – with ingredients you can pronounce!

If you’re a reader of “Rainbow On Your Plate” you know I pay attention to food labels.  I do a great deal of outreach teaching kids, parents, educators, even physicians (???!!!!!!) how to decipher the information included in them.

Improvements are on the horizon.  It seems that the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, has proposed changes to the nutritional label as we know it.  Take a look at the explanation here, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/a-makeover-for-food-labels/, and see what you think of the proposed improvements.

Happy 2010!