The foods that we eat provide three main nutrients: carbohydrate, protein and fat. We need all three to fuel our bodies and keep all our tissues strong. Carbohydrates come from foods such as breads, crackers, cereals, fruits, and dairy products. Chicken, beef, pork, turkey, fish and eggs are some examples of animal protein sources. Peanut butter and dried beans or peas provide plant protein. Fats come from both animal and plant sources including corn oil, olive oil, peanut oil, butter, cream, nuts, shortening and avocados.
     Many foods contain a mixture of these three nutrients. For example, a slice of pizza has a crust (carbohydrate), tomato sauce (carbohydrate), cheese (protein and fat) and pepperoni (protein and fat). Carbohydrates give us energy, B vitamins and iron. Proteins provide the building blocks for muscle tissue, bone and blood. Fats provide energy and are the basis for cell membranes and hormones as well as providing the padding for our major organs.
     Carbohydrates and protein have 4 calories per gram and fats have 9 calories per gram.
Food labels list the three main nutrients and detail the number of grams of each present in that food product. Food labels can be very helpful if you know what to look for and know how to read them. The labels can also be confusing and a bit misleading if you aren’t familiar with the terminology.
     A food product label may claim to be “fat free” which means there should be zero grams of total fat listed in the nutrition facts panel. Fat free salad dressings or fat free milk are good examples. Just because a product is fat free, doesn’t mean it has no calories or won’t cause you to gain weight. Consumers often buy fat free items and then assume that they can eat unlimited amounts of those foods without any consequences. By the same token, “sugar free” foods are not calorie free and they may contain more fat than the regular product with sugar. “No Sugar Added” means that the food item may have had some naturally occurring sugars, but no extra sugar was added. Fruit, fruit juice, and milk products all contain natural sugars.
      “Low Carbohydrate” or “no carbohydrate” labels do not mean that these foods are calorie free. In fact, low carbohydrate foods may contain lots of fat and protein and may have lots of calories as well. The low carbohydrate diet craze brought many of these products to our grocery shelves.
      “Trans Fat Free” is a new term that indicates the food product does not contain hydrogenated fats that can raise cholesterol levels. This does not mean the food product is fat free or that it contains no saturated fats which can also raise cholesterol levels. “Reduced fat” means the product has 25% less fat than the standard version of that food. Before you buy any food product with nutrition claims on the front of the label, be sure to read the fine print on the back of the label for the full story.
Visit http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html for more information on food labels.