Food Choices

"In choosing dietary sources of carbohydrates the best ones are those that are nutrient dense, meaning they contain more essential nutrients per calorie of energy. In general, nutrient-dense carbohydrates are minimally processed and include whole-grain breads and cereals, low-fat dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and beans. In contrast, empty-calorie carbohydrate foods are highly processed and often contain added sugars and fats. Soft drinks, cakes, cookies, and candy are examples of empty-calorie carbohydrates. They are sometimes referred to as ‘bad carbohydrates,’ as they are known to cause health problems when consumed in excess. While nutrition facts labels aid in determining the amount of carbohydrates you eat, they do not help in determining whether a food is refined or not. The ingredients list provides some help in this regard. It identifies all of the food’s ingredients in order of concentration, with the most concentrated ingredient first. When choosing between two breads, pick the one that lists whole wheat (not wheat flour) as the first ingredient, and avoid those with other flour ingredients, such as white flour or corn flour. (Enriched wheat flour refers to white flour with added vitamins.) Eat less of products that list HFCS and other sugars such as sucrose, honey, dextrose, and cane sugar in the first five ingredients. If you want to eat less processed foods then, in general, stay away from products with long ingredient lists. On the front of food and beverages the manufacturers may include claims such as “sugar-free,” “reduced sugar,” “high fiber,” etc. The Nutrition and Labeling Act of 1990 has defined for the food industry and consumers what these labels mean. Sugar-free contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving; reduced sugar contains 25 percent less sugar than a similar product; less sugar contains 25 percent less sugar than a similar product and was not altered by processing to become so; no sugars added means no sugars were added during processing; high fiber contains at least 20 percent of the daily value of fiber in each serving; a good source of fiber contains between 10 and 19 percent of the daily value of fiber per serving; and more fiber contains 10 percent or more of the daily value of fiber per serving."