Often times, many of us are really guilty of not knowing what we consume. Why doctors have told us it’s important to measure our energy ratio so that what we take in commensurate with what we actually need and use, everyone will have to do the maths to compute the actual percentage. An easy rule of thumbs is:
15% fat = 1.5 grams per 100 calories
20% fat= 2.0grams per 100 calories
25% fat= 2.5 grams per 100 calories
Cholestrol
This tells you how much cholesterol you get from eating one serving of the food. There are two types of cholesterol – HDL, known as the “good” cholesterol and LDL, the “bad” cholesterol.
Carbohydrates And Sugar
Become aware of the composition of your food. High sugar will promote blood sugar instability. Identify the “Total Carbohydrates”. This number represents the total of all the different types of carbohydrates you consume from eating one serving of the food.
Fibre
Choose foods with a higher fibre content, which will slow down carbohydrate absorption.
Work out the “Fibre” content. This number tells you how many grams of dietary fibre is in one serving of the food. Dietary Fibre is the undigestable portion of plant food. In processed foods and packaged cereals, choose foods with a minimum of two to four grams of fibre per serving. There are a few cereals with six to eight grams per serving, even better, or better still go for natural cereals like ( millet or corn cereal-pap)
Protein
View the “Protein” amount. This number tells you how much protein you obtain from consuming one serving of the food.
Become aware of your protein sources. Did you get 15 to 30 percent in your diet today?
Sugar
Be vigilant about the amount of “Sugar”. Some carbohydrates become sugar when digested in your body, so you may be consuming more sugar than what is on the label.
Vitamins And Mineral
Look at the “Vitamins and Minerals”. The food may contain several vitamins, such as Vitamin A, B, C or E as well as minerals such as iron and calcium.
Sodium
Sodium is also known as table salt and it is a hidden ingredient in many foods, especially processed food, such as canned foods and tomato sauces.
See the “Percent Daily Value”. The asterisk (*) after this heading refers to the information at the bottom of the label, which states “% daily values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet”.
Finally, don’t forget to look at the “Information at the Bottom of the Label”. This chart is based on a 2,000-calorie diet. This information must be on all food labels, although the chart that follows is not required on small packages if the label is too small.
However, the information is dietary advice from public health experts for all Nigerians and is the same for all products. This is applicable also in many other countries.
The label shows the upper and lower limits for each nutrient based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Let’s use the macaroni and beef example. One serving would provide 18% of the Daily Value of the possible 100% Daily Value for your total fat intake. That leaves 82% that you could consume from other sources for that day. If you ate two servings, you would consume 36% of your Daily Value for fat, leaving 64% to be consumed from other sources.According to WikiHow.
Ensure you read every product label before you purchase the food.
Whatever your age, there’s a strong scientific evidence that being physically active can help you lead a healthier and even happier life.
“If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented,” says Dr Nick Cavill, a health promotion consultant.
Remember, you build a completely new body every seven years, and it can only be as strong as the supplies you give it to work with. You really are what you eat! As you make decisions about how you will eat and live for a lifetime, remember that you can’t build a brick house out of straw, nor can you build a healthy body out of sugar.
