Q:  How can the food label help people on special diets?


 A: For many people on special diets, the amount of the nutrient in grams or milligrams is most important because their diets are based on a set amount of one or more nutrients a day specific to their needs--for example, 60 grams (g) of protein, 2,000 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day. Special dieters can find the amount by weight of nutrients listed in the top part of the Nutrition Facts panel.

Some important points about the Nutrition Facts panel: The values listed for total carbohydrate include all carbohydrates, including dietary fiber and sugars listed below it.

The sugars include naturally present sugars, such as lactose in milk and fructose in fruits, as well as those added to the food, such as table sugar, corn syrup, and dextrose. The label can claim "no sugar added" but still have naturally occurring sugar. An example is fruit juice.

Also, potassium may be listed voluntarily with the nutrients listed on the top part of the panel, just below sodium. Its %Daily Value is based on a recommended intake of 3,500 mg a day.

Other vitamins and minerals may be listed on the Nutrition Facts panel, along with vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium.

Amounts of vitamins and minerals are only presented as percentages of the Daily Value.

Calorie information appears at the top of the Nutrition Facts panel, following serving size information. This information is important for those needing to increase or decrease their calories.

The serving size information gives the amount of food to which all the other numbers on the Nutrition Facts panel apply.

Now serving sizes are more uniform among similar products and are designed to reflect the amounts people actually eat. Also, serving sizes must be about the same for the same types of products--for example, different brands of frozen yogurt--and for similar products within a food category--for example, ice cream, ice milk, and sherbet within the category frozen dairy-type desserts.

Having more uniform serving sizes makes it easier to compare the nutritional values of related foods.

People who follow special diets should be aware that the serving size on the label may not be the same as that recommended for their specific needs. For example, the label serving size for cooked fish is 3 ounces (84 g). A person following a 60-gram protein diet may be allowed only 1 ounce (28 g) of fish at a meal. So, in this case, the nutrient values would have to be divided by 3 to determine the nutritional content of the 1-ounce portion eaten.

 

Source: Excerpted from FDA Consumer, January - February 1995, Revised January 1998: Better Information for Special Diets

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