Conference rocks::weight_control

    
    I've been working my way through the various Healthy Choice soups,
    finding out which ones I like and don't like.  Anyway, I was about
    to buy the chicken soup when I read the label.  30% of the calories
    were from fat!  (you'll find this information tucked away below the
    total fat in grams, it's easy to miss).  The eye-grabbing colorful
    piecharts on the back show % of calories from saturated fat ONLY
    (tricky, tricky!) and that was low, approx 10%.
    
    Instead of paying the $1.69 I bought Campbell's regular soup, which
    had roughly the same # of calories, for $0.59
    
    The lesson is read the label, the whole label ...

    I've noticed the same thing too Mike.  Since losing a total of
    72 lbs (Weight Watchers), I am very label conscious now.
    
    Frozen yogurt is a good example.  While browsing, examining
    labels, fat content, etc. I find a brand that looks fairly
    low in calories/fat.  I can't remember then brand, but it's
    a pint, with 80 calories PER SERVING.  The catch:  there
    are 5 (YES, FIVE) servings per container.  Think of it:
    dividing a pint up into 5 servings makes for pretty small
    portions!  
    
    These days, you've really got to read the "fine print".
    
    Linda

    I went to the natural health food store and discovered even there I had
    to read labels very closely, while there may not hve been much fat content,
    the soudium, postassium levels were very high and the first few
    ingredients weren't always what the product showed (like pea soup)
    
    Mostly though they were good (whole wheat pasta was uhm,uhm good), but
    expensive!
    
    Also someone suggested a lowfat recipe for dressing, I'm glad I read
    the labels on the Ranch dressings the first ingredient "SUGAR".
    
    

    You can make your own 100% semolina or whole wheat pasta for a fraction
    of the cost with the proper flour and a pasta machine (eg: Simac).
    
    Not only is it cheaper, it'll be fresh.  That means it tastes better,
    PLUS it cooks in about 5 minutes.
    
    Making pasta is simple (but you'll need a fair amount of space and the
    proper equipment) and easy.

    Another caveat, I saw a very enlightening program on how the dairy and
    beef industries are dealing with mandatory labeling requirements. 
    There is no uniform definition for certain words which we healthy
    eaters THINK we know the meaning for.  Did you realize that LIGHT is
    used very often to mean low in sodium.  Yup, we think we are being
    virtuous and saving calories and fat and we are getting a few grains
    less of salt, and one of them has to be used to take with all the
    labels (get it?)
    
    Sylvia

    
    I thought "low-fat" means less than 30% of the calories come from 
    fat, "light" means that it had at least a third less calories
    and fat than the regular product, while non-fat means that each
    serving has <1 gram of fat.
    

	I don't believe the FDA has defined the term low-fat.
	I do know that there is a proposed new nutritional labeling
	standard (it was shown in the last (not the current) issue of Eating
	Well Magazine).


	An info sheet I picked up at Health services gave the following:


	Terms that have been defined by the FDA include:

	Low Calorie: No more than 40 calories per serving

	Reduced Calorie: at least 1/3 fewer calories than original

	Sodium Free: Less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving
	
	Very low sodium: 35 milligrams of sodium or less per serving

	Reduced sodium: At least 75% less sodium than usual

	Unsalted: No salt added during processing. (These products may not
		  necessarily be low in sodium.)
	
	Enriched or Fortified: vitamins, minerals, or protein has been added

	

	Terms defined by the USDA include:

	Extra Lean: Less than 5% fat *
	Lean:  Less than 10% fat *
	Lower Fat: 25% less fat than usually in the product 

	
	* I assume this refers to weight, not percent calories from fat.