Welcome back to another “Know Your Labels”. It’s important to know why certain products will label themselves in a specific way. As always, check the nutrition label and ingredients, not just what’s on the front of a package. The labeling on the front of the package might help to reduce the amount of labels we do read. So let’s talk about energy terms, or calorie terms that can be on products.
Calorie Terms or Energy Terms
- Calorie-Free: This means that there is less than 5 calories per serving. Be careful when choosing these items because more than likely they have additives in them to take and feel like food but it’s not a big help in the nutrition aspect.
- Low-Calorie: No more than 40 calories per serving. This items would be a good go-to snack if you are watching your caloric intake. However, a piece of fruit would be a good and low calorie option as well.
- Reduced Calories: Contains at least 25% fewer calories than the regular alternative product. It can be a good choice since usually a “reduced calorie” product can be they reduced the fat percentage of the product. But still always read the label. 25% reduced calories of a bag of chips still doesn’t mean it’s not a high calorie food.
Things to Consider
If you are watching you caloric intake and looking at products with these terms on the front, always read the label. When you reduce your caloric intake, watching your nutritional intake in a must. Since you will be eating less energy, the energy you consume should be from high nutrient sources. Less calories, higher nutrition. For instance, instead of snacking on a bag of crackers (120 calories), you choose an orange (30 calories). The orange will not only have good sources of energy but also added benefits of vitamins and minerals. Although the label might say low-calorie, or reduced calories, make sure the nutritional value of that product is high.
Although lower calorie products might help you with your caloric goal, you want to make sure you are doing it in the right way which is feeding your body nutrients it needs without going over your calorie deficit. If you need any help in this regard, I’m always here! Feel free to reach out.
Now a question for you:
Would you like to see some healthy snack options that are naturally low calorie and healthy?
A Different Beet Nutrition 