Archive for February, 2010

Let’s Look at Nutrition Information

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

People use nutritional tools to cope the nutritional ideals that insert their body through food sources. Learning nutritional figures requirements for everybody typeface will ensure the no qualities is vulnerable to improper nutrition while departure through dieting and load debit programs. Learning nutritional numbers will ensure that everyone in the family gets a well feast tonight and has more energy the next day. The nutritional specifics provided on consumables allows people to expound a sound attention and body. People use nutritional facts to help the body mend from foremost illnesses. A surgeon will place many people on restricted calorie diets after they are discharged from the infirmary next a sympathy spell or stroke. Heart patients are well accustomed to dietetic changes but often question if caloric restrictions will better their fitness. Using the nutritional facts on food, middle patients can watch the totality of sodium in the diet and it will help them deem calories at every meal. These patients will see an apparent improvement in their circulatory routine after erudition nutritional numbers information. Helpful nutritional guidelines are on all canned foods and feeling patients can cure earlier when they see the totality fat substance in foods, and the total of cholesterol that they are introducing into their systems with the foods that they consume. Some low carb diets would neglect miserably if the enduring had not been cultured nutritional figures that identified the total carbohydrates in food crop. Quick father diet policy can have unhealthy consequences if a person did not propose for the affects of mass defeat before the diet plan was started. Sudden credence damaged weakens the body and the immune method and some center patients will not be able to direct the stress located on the body during this time. Learning nutritional figures ideals will ensure that all agile establish diet diplomacy are feeling-strong as well as being low calorie diet campaign that are guaranteed to be very nutritious. Heart patients can learn from nutritional facts and spend authority in a strong way. Some people are erudition nutritional numbers guidelines because these obliging pieces of information transmit how numerous foods influence import harm efforts and how the foods will ultimately change total body wellbeing. By culture the nutritional numbers morals, people result out which foods are low in calories. Those nutritional ideals will pay off handsomely when people can eat excluding and increase the same nutritional ethics without overeating. Detailing and informative facts about the nutritional values in foods will pilot people to drinking foods that are better and many dieters use nutritional numbers to misplace weighting while following the mindful guidance of a physician. Many people will amend diet diplomacy after education nutritional data because some food scores will confine more vitamins and reserves. Other foods will be eliminated from the diet entirely because the nutritional data shows that these foods are high in baby satisfied and flooded fats. Some food stuffs will control defiant inflammatory characteristics which would help people that endure from tender hurting a great exchange. Some nutritional data shows food significance scores that will complete the body well in later being because the foods include antioxidants that delay the aging process.

Nutrition Claims: Reading Between The Lines

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

We often see claims such as “zero trans fat” and “reduced in calories” on the front of food packages highlighting a product’s nutrition features. They are a quick and easy way to get information about a food, but these eye-catching statements do not tell the whole story. For example, a food free of trans fat may still be high in Calories. Be sure to also read the Nutrition Facts table to determine what a claim is really telling you.

 

Furthermore, the word “light” on a food label can mean different things. This claim is used to describe a food as “reduced in fat” and “reduced in calories”, but not always. Sometimes the word “light” describes the taste, colour or texture of a food. Manufacturers must describe what is “light” about the food . Manufacturers can only use a nutrition claim if their product meets certain criteria.

 

Here are some other definitions for claims that may come in handy:

 

“Low” is always associated with a very small amount. “Low in fat” means the food contains no more than 3g (grams) of fat in the amount of food specified in the Nutrition Facts.

 

“Reduced in calories” means the food contains at least 25% less energy than the food to which it is compared.

           

“Source of fibre” means the food contains at least 2g of dietary fibre in the amount of food listed under the Nutrition Facts. A food with the claim ‘High source of fibre’ contains at least 4g in that amount of food. It is recommended that most to consume about 25g or more of fibre per day.

 

“Less” is used to compare one product with another. For example, a box of crackers claiming to contain “50% less salt” will have half the sodium of the food to which it’s compared. It doesn’t necessarily mean the product is low in sodium, so check the sodium content in the Nutrition Facts.

While claims are a good starting point, you need to check the Nutrition Facts to get the details.

 

The Nutrition Facts Table – What’s in it for You?

 

Have you ever wondered about the nutrition value of your favourite breakfast cereal? Does it have the dietary fibre you need? Is it high or low in sodium or saturated fat?

 

The Nutrition Facts table, which you see on almost all pre-packaged foods, makes it easier to answer questions you may have about what is in the foods you buy. In the Nutrition Facts you will find the number of Calories and the amounts of 13 nutrients contained in a specific amount of the food. These nutrients will be expressed in grams (g) or milligrams (mg) or as a % Daily Value.

 

The Daily Values are based on recommendations for a healthy diet. The % Daily Value makes comparing foods easier because it puts all nutrients on the same scale (0% – 100% Daily Value), much like a ruler. For example, a food that has a % Daily Value of 5% or less for fat, sodium or cholesterol would be low in these nutrients. A food that has a % Daily Value of 15% or more for calcium, vitamin A or fibre would be high in these nutrients.

In general, you should look for a higher % Daily Value next to nutrients you are trying to increase in your diet, such as fibre, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. Look for a lower % Daily Value for nutrients you are trying to decrease, such as saturated and trans fats, cholesterol and sodium.

Also remember to compare the specific amount of food listed at the top of the Nutrition Facts to the amount that you eat. If you eat double the amount listed, don’t forget to double the values for Calories and nutrients.

 

Nutrition Labelling – It’s the Amount That Counts

 

Food labels are valuable sources of information. A Nutrition Facts table is found on almost all food labels and it can tell you a lot about the food you buy. Reading food labels can help you make informed food choices, but there are important tips to keep in mind.

The nutrient information in the Nutrition Facts is always based on a specific ‘amount’ of food measured in household units – such as a cup of milk, or a slice of bread – followed by the metric measurement (g, mL). The amount reflects the quantity people usually eat at one sitting. The key however, is comparing the amount in the Nutrition Facts to the amount you actually eat. -Why? A favourite bowl you use at breakfast might hold anywhere from a ½ cup to a 2 ½ cup amount of cereal. Having 2 ½ cups of a particular cereal may be five times the amount specified in the Nutrition Facts. If the cereal box label indicates a ½ cup amount is 120 Calories, this means that, instead of consuming 120 Calories, you have just consumed a 600 Calorie bowl of cereal.

More tips for using the Nutrition Facts:

 Remember – the amount of food in the Nutrition Facts is not a recommended serving. Canada’s Food Guide recommends the amount and type of food needed for different age and gender groups, as well as different stages of life.

 Nutrition Facts on different brands of the same type of food may be based on different amounts of food. For example, one brand of crackers may have nutrition information based on eight crackers, while another brand’s is based on only four crackers. So check the metric amount under the Nutrition Facts when comparing products.

 Not all foods are sold ‘ready to eat’. Foods that require preparation, such as cake mix baked with an egg, or breakfast cereal served with milk, will have one column in Nutrition Facts providing nutrient values for the food as sold, while another column will provide nutrient values for the food “as prepared,” with the extra egg or milk, for example.

 

 

Water, Mineral or Oil? Comparing the Base Ingredients in Cosmetics

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

There are a number of ingredients which are used in cosmetics, with various types of ingredients being used to create vastly different colors and textures once the cosmetic items have been applied. Despite there being so many options available when it comes to the overall ingredients in cosmetics, most cosmetics will feature one of three types of base ingredients. Instead of being focused on creating the perfect shades, the base ingredients are what make up the underlying core of the cosmetic application. These ingredients determine the overall texture of the makeup, whether the cosmetic items are thick or thin, and can even affect how easy or difficult application of the product is. The three most common base ingredients found in cosmetics are water, minerals, and oils.

Obviously, each of these three ingredients has their own qualities as well as their own advantages and disadvantages. Because of how important it is to have the ability to match cosmetics with your skin type and personal preferences, taking the time to compare and understand these three base ingredients could be the key to finding the exact type of cosmetics that will meet your needs and best complement your skin tone. Here are the most important details about each type of cosmetics base so that you can find the type that is best for you.

Many water-based cosmetics choose water as their base ingredient because it can produce a lighter and thinner product than either mineral-based or oil-based cosmetics. This is an especially popular option with many mascaras and liquid eyeliners, since they rely on their thinner nature to be able to be applied effectively. In addition to being able to produce a product that flows well and goes on lightly, many water-based cosmetics cost less to produce as opposed to other bases. This can lead to a product that not only is easy to apply but that also has a slightly lower cost on average than other options.

Many water-based liquid cosmetics will have a natural glossiness to them, a characteristic which can be accentuated in products such as lip gloss or which can be toned down by the addition of powdered ingredients in concealers. Water-based cosmetics may be a bit more difficult to apply, but tend to not clump as much as other types.

Not as common as water- or oil-based cosmetics but rapidly growing in popularity, mineral-based cosmetic products use natural minerals as their base component and pigment. This results in cosmetic products which are most often sold as an ultrafine powder, eliminating much of the glossiness and difficulty that can come with using liquid-based cosmetics. Many mineral-based cosmetics use only natural ingredients, making sure that all of the pigments that appear in the products are shades that can be found in nature and also reducing the likelihood of allergic reactions that are often triggered by chemically-based ingredients. Because of the purity of the ingredients (and in some cases, the difficulty of getting the ingredients in the first place), many mineral-based cosmetics will have at least a slightly higher price than water-based and oil-based cosmetics. It is important to do as much research into the type of cosmetics you are considering purchasing, in order to ensure that you go home with the type which is best for your skin.

The majority of mineral-based cosmetics can be used to give slight hints of color where needed without overpowering the natural beauty of the face. Because of its powdered nature, mineral-based cosmetics can appear more natural than other types of cosmetic products, when used sparingly. Mineral-based cosmetics generally go on easily, though it can take some practice to find the exact amount needed when changing from liquid cosmetics.

The other common base ingredient for cosmetic products is oil, with oil-based cosmetics featuring a wide variety of colors, textures, and application techniques. Because of the ease with which oil-based cosmetics cling to the skin they present a happy medium for many between water-based products and the powders of mineral-based cosmetic products. The thickness of oil-based cosmetics can vary from liquids to near-solids, with the cosmetic products staying in place relatively well regardless of the thickness when applied. Different types of oil and pigments can be used in oil-based cosmetics, allowing manufacturers to release numerous product lines that are similar in scope but which all feature unique characteristics and shades. The price of oil-based cosmetics depends largely on the specific ingredients that are used in their manufacture, so both low-priced and high-priced options exist.

The biggest concern that many people have in regards to using oil-based cosmetics is that they are often more noticeable than other cosmetic types. Though application is generally quite easy for oil-based concealers and other oil cosmetics, care must be taken to make sure that too much is not applied at once.