Ten Rules for Reading a Food Label.
It’s easier than gassing up a spaceship!
Reading a food label, with all those scary words and numbers,
is not as alien as you might think.
We’ve created some straight forward rules that every earthling can follow.
Rule 1: Food is fuel.
The body burns food to live.
Food is fuel for the body, the same way as spaceship burns gas.
As it zips in between the planets, the body burns food
as you go about your busy day.
I know it sounds silly, but to understand food labels better,
we will follow our alien friend as he gasses up his spaceship.
Rule 2: Fuel is burned.
This creates energy or calories.
The amounts of energy obtained from digesting a set amount of food
is called the Calorie.
The longer the trip through space, the more fuel or energy the spaceship needs.
In a similar way, the more active you are, the more calories you burn.
Rule 3: Know how much is in one serving.
Sorry, it’s not a gallon.
Gas is measured by the gallon but food is a little more complicated than fuel.
It comes in different shapes, sizes, and containers.
To understand how much energy the food you are eating contains,
you must first know how big the serving size is.
Thankfully, this is one of the first things the food label will list.
Serving size is typically provided in cups or ounces.
So measuring the food you plan to eat is the only way to know exactly
how many calories it contains.
Rule 4: The calories listed are per serving.
Please do not eat the entire box.
The calorie listing is important because it tells you how much energy you get
from eating one serving of food.
Think of calories per serving the same way our alien considers
how many miles he can travel with one gallon of gas.
Since one serving of food contains a set number of calories,
and the calories listed on the label are per serving,
if you have multiple servings, you have to multiply the calories on the label
by the number of servings
to know the total calories you have eaten.
For example, 232 calories times 10 servings
equals 2320 total calories eaten.
Rule 5: Know the type of fuel or calories you are burning.
There are three main ingredients in food that provide energy:
fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
If you add all three of these ingredients together,
you can calculate the total calories.
When our alien chooses his gas, he can choose from regular or premium grade.
Both are still gas that his spaceship will use for energy
but the concentrations are different.
The same is true for food,
only there are way more than two food choices.
Rule 6: How fatty is your fuel?
Fat is the most concentrated ingredient in food.
This means that a large amount of calories are present in a small amount of fat.
When choosing foods, select those with healthy fats like fish and nuts.
But remember, a very little bit of fat burns for a long time
and contains lots of energy.
Rule 7: Sugar is too sweet for your tank.
Carbohydrates are foods that are broken down into sugar by the body.
If you are running a race that requires a lot of energy in a short period of time,
carbohydrates are a good choice.
However, if not burned right away,
carbohydrates are stored almost immediately.
Over time, diets high in process carbohydrates
have been tied to many health problems.
Choose healthier foods with less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
Rule 8: Premium fuel for the body has a lot of protein.
Protein is the third and final ingredient in food that provides us with calories.
When the alien chooses high grade fuel, his spaceship run smoother for many years.
Premium fuel for the body is high in protein.
Protein provides good energy levels, keeps your weight steady,
and allows the body to repair itself and stay healthy for many years.
Rule 9: Food ingredients should not be in a foreign language.
The ingredients found in the food you are eating
are at the bottom of the nutritional label.
Chances are, if you cannot pronounce the ingredients,
that food is not a healthy option.
Rule 10: Fuel with too many ingredients will clog your engine.
Our alien knows that fuel with a long list of ingredients
is likely processed and contains fillers and preservatives
that may be unhealthy for his spaceship’s engine.
In a similar way,
choosing foods with less number of ingredients that you can pronounce
is a good way to make sure the food you are about to eat
is less processed.