DO YOU KNOW HOW TO READ NUTRITION LABELS?
BLOG #92 DO YOU KNOW HOW TO READ NUTRITION LABELS – The Paleo Blog #92
Dr. Spiker Davis D.D.S. 713-781-2800 Dr. Matt Guerre D.D.S. 713-781-2800
In collaboration with Dr. John Seger M.D. Cardiologist 713-791-9444 and
Jenna Nixon Holistic Nutritionist 281-433-9996
BLOG | ABOUT | MISSION | PALEO | RANT | PRODUCT
Every day we read about another diet and how healthy it is for you and why you should eat this way. After years of studying nutrition, I have probably tried most of those diets. In fact, I have heard many times that when you go shopping for your groceries, to be healthy you are supposed to shop on the perimeter of the store and NOT SHOP on the interior isles. Why is that? It is mainly because all of the fresh foods are located on the perimeter of the store and all the packaged foods are in the interior isles. Packaged foods by law must have a label that lists all of the chemicals and additives as well as the calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fatgs etc. in the package. Most of us never read or look at the label and if we do, in general, we do not know what we are looking for. So, let’s discuss how to read a nutrition label.
One of the main things you need to know-much of the packaging promises to be low in sugar or fat free etc.. So don’t believe the packaging as it is designed to sell the product. You must read and understand the nutrition labels on the back or side of the container. Let’s look at one. I personally like to drink protein drinks. I feel like they are healthy, and I usually like their taste and they brag about protein and being nutritional. Let’s see.
Notice that the box this Boost drink came in says “BALANCED NUTRITIONAL DRINK”. I don’t exactly know what this means but it sounds good to me. 360 Calories sounds like more than most Protein drinks and it has 26 Vitamins and 14 grams of protein. Maybe I should drink this after my workout at the gym for the protein and vitamins to replenish me? What do you think?
Now let’s look closer. No artificial colors & sweeteners. Who wants artificial anything so it must be good. It also says that it is Gluten free. And it was made by Nestle Health Science. I’m sure they do all of their research since Health is in their name-right???? Just looking here, it seems like an ok drink???
So, let’s look at the nutrition label on the back and see what that says.
The first big thing that catches my eye is that it has 360 calories. Most of the protein drinks I consume are between 100-200 calories. Why is this one so much more than usual? Look further down and you will notice that there are 2gms of saturated fat. I thought cardiologists recommended that we don’t consume saturated fats as that is bad for our cholesterol and other heart issues? Most of the drinks that I purchase have 20-30 grams of protein and NO SATURATED FATS??? Then look at the Carbohydrates-I’ve heard that carbohydrates make your belly and hips fatter? Most of the protein drinks I consume only have 10-15 grams of carbs? But wait, check out the total sugars at 24 grams. The American Heart Association recommends that we limit our sugar intake to 24 grams per day, so this is my max for the day-right? Then underneath it says-includes 24 grams of added sugars. Added sugars mean that they are not naturally there like in an apple, but it means that the company (Nestle Health Science) had to add 24 grams of sugar to this product. 24 grams is about 6 tsp’s of sugar which is close to the same amount of sugar in a cola. How can that be? Let’s move over to the right and look at the ingredients. Usually, the first 4 ingredients make up about 60-75% of the total amount of the liquid-So, first is water, second is Glucose syrup (another fancy term for SUGAR) and the third ingredient is SUGAR!!!+ To me that means that about 50-75% of this drink is water and sugar. As a dentist that sounds really healthy, don’t you think? Then as we get to the bottom, I finally recognize a few things (all the ones in between, I have no idea what they are-Google FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES-I did and I still don’t know what they are but they are made from fructose which is a sugar??). The things I do recognize are salt and carrageenan. Salt is limited by the American Heart Association-how much can I have today? Carrageenan is used as a stabilizer. My understanding is carrageenan is basically a type of soap. Why don’t you read and see the side effects of eating this soap? I don’t really care if it is a stabilizer, I just don’t want to eat soap. My mother used to wash my mouth out with soap and that is not on my dietary list.
My understanding is that nutrition labels are added to protect us the customer. When you buy fresh cauliflower and spinach you know what you are getting. Look on the back of a can of spinach and you will be shocked as they also add all kinds of extra ingredients. I really don’t want that so I will just buy fresh organic.
Another thing you need to look at is the number of servings in this container. It says servings per container are 6. Does that mean that there are 6 servings in one bottle or, are there 6 bottles in the group. Often times it is not clear, and you can see if there were 6 servings in one bottle that means 6 x 360 = 2160 calories in this one bottle. Be careful. I have found lots of protein bars with only 100 calories per serving but there are 2-3 servings in just one bar!
So, let’s look at some healthy prunes. Notice that there are 6 servings per this bag. I tried to figure out how many prunes equal 1.5 ounces and I’m guessing it is 2-3. Notice that there are 14 grams of sugar but then notice there are 0 grams of added sugar. That means that prunes have natural sugar just like apples and lots of fruit, but this bag has NO ADDED SUGAR. Also notice that the only ingredients are the prunes! NOTHING ELSE-YEAH!!!
SUMMARY-It is obvious to ME that your mouth is the window to your health. In my opinion, we have been duped by the government and by the big sugar industry and it shows almost every time i read the ingredients label. sugar is not in any way healthy and is not necessary in anyone’s diet. so please, please read every label and THROW OUT SUGAR (ESPECIALLY THE ADDED SUGAR) AND GET HEALTHY FOR 2024. The doctors and staff are behind you and call us if we can help. 713-781-2800. Also, please call or email JENNA NIXON if you need some detailed nutritional counseling from a true WELL-TRAINED professional.
Jenna Nixon
https://goodthingsnaturalhealth.com
Jenna@goodthingsnaturalhealth.com 281-433-9996
WELCOME 2024 AND LET’S MAKE THIS OUR HEALTHIEST YEAR EVER!
Spiker
“THE MOUTH IS THE WINDOW TO YOUR HEALTH”. BRUSH AND FLOSS TWICE DAILY, AVOID SUGAR AND PROCESSED FOOD FOR 2024 AND SEE YOUR DENTIST AND PHYSICIAN ON A REGULAR BASIS.
Spiker Davis D.D.S. spiker@thepaleodentist.com John Seger M.D. Matt Guerre D.D.S.
PLEASE SIGN UP BY GOING TO OUR WEBSITE www.thepaleodentist.com
STAY SAFE. WORRY ABOUT NOTHING AND PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING!