Guest post by frank alvarez, health coach
The process of determining if a food is nutritious or not is arduous at best. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans have all been developed into user-friendly recommendations for how Americans should choose their foods.
How Nutrition Guidelines Work
The DRI’s (Dietary Reference Intakes) include 2 sets of numbers that serve as goals for nutrient intake. They are the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) and Adequate Intakes (AI).
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA’s) reflect the average daily amount of a nutrient considered adequate to meet the needs of most people in a population.
Adequate Intakes (AI’s) were developed for nutrients that do not have enough scientific data to be given an RDA, which subsequently are given an AI.
Tolerable Upper Limit (TUL) is the recommended maximum of a nutrient someone should consume.
Reading Nutrition Labels
When you read a nutrition facts label you will encounter a different set of numbers.
The Daily Value (DV) is the recommended intake of a nutrient based on either a 2,000 or 2,500 kcal diet.
The percent Daily Value (%DV) is the percentage of the recommended intake (DV) of a nutrient provided by a single serving of a food.
The DV and %DV were created to give consumers a benchmark for know whether a food is a good source of nutrients and allowing them to easily compare one food with another.
The DV and %DV is used for nutrition labeling, NOT what is adequate for humans.
The RDA value, or the AI value if no RDA can be determined, is what is used to determine an adequate intake level.
Food labels are regulated, and the %DV really only tells us if a food is a good or bad source for the nutrients that it contains.
Here is a good guide to keep close until you learn to read labels well:
www.he.k-state.edu. November 2015.
Tips For Reading Nutrition Labels
- Start with the serving size and be sure to understand what one serving really is.
- The average person should consume about 2000 calories per day, less if not active. Remember that the calories listed on the label will be only for the serving size, not the whole package.
- Total fat tells you how much fat is in one serving of the product you are looking at. It includes fats our bodies need and unhealthy fats we should limit.
- Sodium is a salt and adults should aim for less than 2300 mg of sodium per day. Remember this is not just table salt, it is the salt already present in foods. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease; are over 50, or are of African American descent, it is recommended to consume less than 1500 mg daily.
- Total carbohydrates listed include sugars, dietary fibers, and other carbohydrates. Try to get the majority of your carbohydrates from vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and beans. Look for foods with more fiber and less sugar. Sugars on the label include both natural and added sugars. Foods with only natural sugars will show a number next to sugars on the label, but will not show any sugar-words in the ingredient list.
- As a rule of thumb, the fewer the ingredients a product has, the healthier it is. The ingredients are listed in descending order, from greatest amount to least. If you see sugar as the first ingredient, it is high in sugar.
- Be cautious of some marketing labels you will see on packages. Reduced fat, low fat, and light may not be as healthy as they lead on to be, or at all. A low fat food can be high in sugar or calories, while offering little that is good for you.
Your Nutrient Targets In Cronometer
In Cronometer, the Nutrient Targets section shows your nutrition targets for the day. Each target has an optional minimum and maximum value.
By default, the minimum is set to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) value for your body type, and the maximum is set to the Tolerable Upper Limit (TUL), when available.
As you log food in Cronometer, your Daily Report or Nutrition Report will give you a breakdown of how you’re hitting your nutrient targets. Keep an eye on and strive to get at least 100% of your daily targets from your diet to prevent malnourishment.
References
- McGuire, Michelle, Beerman, Kathy A. (2011). Nutritional Sciences From Fundamentals to Food. (2nd ) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
- http://www.healthypeople.gov/2010/
