With the new nutrition labels, healthy eating has become easier. Food labels help you choose foods that will help you follow a healthy diet. Claims can now be used if a food meets new legal standards, so you can be confident in what the labels are claiming. A 'light' label claim means that there is one third less calories than the higher calorie version. A 'calorie free' claim means there are fewer than five calories per serving. An easy way to remember the claims is to look for the key words that follow the same pattern for calories and all nutrients. If the word 'free' appears, the food contains the least amount of calories. If the words 'very low' or 'low' appears, this means that the food has a little more calories than the 'free' version. If you see 'reduced' or 'less' on the label, this means that the food has twenty-five percent less calories than the standard version of the same food. For more information on reading the new food labels, contact a health care professional.
©2004 Bluestreak Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
