Get Back on Track with Exercise and Food Labels

Although September weather tends to be gorgeous in New England, this weekend marks the end of our summer respite from routines. Over the summer there was “no time” to exercise because we had barbeques, weddings, beach days, and pools parties to attend. However, with the lazy days of summer coming to a close tomorrow, many people have told me they are “ready to get back on track."

If it's you let slide this summer, listen to Nike and “Just Do It!”  Milford offers a huge variety of places to move. If it’s walking or biking, the has opened its . Just Do It. Moving 20-30 minutes every day will decrease heart disease, blood sugar (which leads to less diabetes), cholesterol, weight and increase immunity and mood according to the National Institutes of Health. When you are hemming and hawing with excuses not to go (too tired, too early, too late, something hurts, too much to do) think of moving like putting .  If you don’t put the gas in, your car will break down. No-one ever regrets having exercised, but they always say “I wish I exercised today."

We are all guilty of a few too many chips, an extra sausage, and more than we needed of all the yummy foods that come with summer events (yes, even I!). Most people declare “I know what I need to do; I just need to do it." Ok, then … refer to the Nike ad.

During the meeting last month, Judy Dagnese, director of Milford School Nursing, pushed for the elementary students to have the David Katz’s Nutrition Detectives program incorporated in the curriculum as in years past. This program empowers children with tools to find unnecessary ingredients in the foods they eat.

For many people getting back on track is as simple as buying the better choices. The “low fat," “100 Calorie," “Sugar Free” and “No Trans Fat” products will help … or will they? It may help a little, but unfortunately, as discussed in "Nutrition Detectives," much of what you see on the front of the box is marketing genius. Have you ever REALLY read food labels? Not just the nutrition facts, but the ingredients? Here are a few tips.

• The first few ingredients have the highest weight of the food. Many cereals have sugar as the first or second ingredient.
• The longer the ingredient list the less healthy.
• “Low fat” — The federal Food and Drug Administration considers “fat” as a triglyceride. But if you read the ingredients, most of these foods still have monoglycerides and diglycerides which are metabolized the same way in our bodies. You many not be eating less fat. And many foods that are "low fat" or "no fat" are still high in calories, carbohydrate and sugar. One great example is the healthy yogurt you love. Check out the sugar content next time you shop.
• “Low Calorie” — This simply means it has less than 40 calories per serving. It is rare that people are satisfied with the recommended serving size. And many times the calories may be low, but the sugar content is still very high.
•  “Reduced Sugar” — Simply means 25 percent less than leading brands. It still contains 75 percent of too much sugar. It is a good guide to limit daily sugar to less than 45 grams.
• “No sugar added” — is typically seen in foods with natural sugars such as jams, jellies, preserves, yogurt, milk, some vegetables, and tomato sauce. However, if you inspect the ingredients you will find words such as "syrup" or words ending in “ol,” “ose,” “ase” which the FDA doesn’t consider sugar and could be hindering your health goals.
• “Sugar Free" — This means there are less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. Tomato sauce is a good example. Did you know that a jar of sauce is supposed to serve 6 people?
• “No trans fat” — This means there are less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Unfortunately the FDA hasn’t determined a recommended daily percentage of trans fat, so it won’t be found on the nutrition facts but can be found in the ingredients by looking for anything ‘partially hydrogenated” or “hydrogenated.”

Check your labels, good luck and have fun getting back on track!