My German Foods Blog

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A cure for math misery: Read the label

Are you one of those stressed out creatures whose brain freezes when counting in your head? And are you one of those mindless munchers who does not know what's inside a can of soft drink, bar of candy or bag of potato chips?

Well here's a solution that will make your life better: Calculate all the calories and nutrients that you consume within a given day. You'll find them on the nutritional label on food packages. Not only will you improve you math skills over time, but also become a more informed consumer of food.

It's simple: pick one day of the week and carefully read the label of each package of food that you consume on that day. Then calculate the total number of calories you added to your body. Here's what you have pay attention to:

1. Serving size:
This can be different from food to food - it could be a cup, a slice, a bar or whatever. Actually look at a serving of each food you plan to eat. Is that the same of what you normally eat?

2. Servings per pack
Do you eat more or less than a serving?

3. Calories
The calories listed on the pack are always for one serving. Calculate the total number of calories you have consumed or are planning to consume.

4. Total Fat
Add up the weight (in grams) of total fat that you consume on a given day. Don't worry: your body requires fat to function well. Pay special attention to the grams of both saturated fat and Trans Fats. Those type of fats clog your arteries more than unsaturated fats.

5. Cholesterol
This is a type of fat molecule which is a central component to make body cells. When you eat animal meat, you're replenishing your cholesterol. However, there a two types of cholesterol, LDL and HDL. Both are important to your body, but the former has a negative side effect: too much of it and your arteries will clog over time.

6. Sodium
That's a chemical element and a central component in salt. Sodium not only makes food taste good, it also is an essential mineral for your metabolism. Because salt is so cheap and added to most packaged foods - particularly snack foods - we can easily eat too much sodium which is unhealthy. Don't eat more than 2,400 grams of sodium a day.

7. Total Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates give you quick and easy energy. But if you don't use up the energy during the day, you will store it in the form of fat cells. Count the grams of total carbs, as well as the amount of fiber and sugars.

8. Protein
Count the grams of protein you ate.

9. Vitamins and minerals
Finally add up the "% of daily values (DV)" for each vitamin and mineral, which are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

If you consume only packaged foods on your "Count The Calories" day, the nutritional math will be an easy exercise. All you have to do is estimate the servings you eat, look up the values for each serving and add. For other foods, like fresh fruits, a ham sandwich or a plate of beef stew at dinner visit a site such as Nutrition Data to get the nutritional data for most fresh and packaged foods (just type in the name of a food in the Search bar).

What did you find out? How many calories do you consume on an average day? What do you have to do to spend these calories? Finding out will not only make you healthier but also smarter.

Recommended daily maximums for calories and nutrients

Most nutritionists and dieticians recommend the following guidelines for the maximum limits of calories and nutrients you should eat on an average day: