FDA Makes Changes to Food Labels

Remember all those special tricks I taught about how to read the nutrition facts label?  Well, the FDA is making it easier for you to really get the information you need.  I’m excited about the changes . . . no, it doesn’t go far enough but it’s a HUGE step in making it easier for you to know what you’re eating and how much is really a serving.

Simple Nutrition Facts Changes

The simple changes you’ll notice right away.  Much of the pertinent information you are looking for will now be in a bigger font and bolder.   Check out the nutrition facts, number of servings, serving size and calories.

Plus “added sugars” will now be included on the nutrition facts.  Yes, I’m rejoicing – no more math or questions about type of sugar!  [reminder – try and stay below 10% added sugars for the day]

“Total Fat,” “Saturated Fat,” and “Trans Fat” will remain, but “Calories from Fat” is being removed because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount.

Serving Sizes Change

This is a big one!  I’ve always complained about how much math was required to figure real serving sizes.  The last time serving sizes were evaluated was in 1993 and they reflect what people should be eating not what they are actually eating.

With the new labels the serving size is corrected.  So, a serving of soda is now 12 oz instead of 8 oz.

Another big change is that packages that are between one and two servings – think 20 oz soda – the food labels will reflect it as one serving because people typically consume the entire product without realizing it was previously considered more than one serving.

“Per Serving” and “Per Package”

But what about those products that should be more than a single serving but may be consumed in a single serving – think 24 oz soda or pint of ice cream?  The new nutrition facts labels will have two columns – one as normal “per serving” and an additional one for “per package” or “per unit”.  Now we’ll really know what the effect of having a therapy moment with Ben & Jerry’s will do to our waistline without doing the math!

Nutrition Facts Video

Here’s a quick video to explain the upcoming changes:

Drinking Water . . . just in time for Summer

Personally, I think we should always be talking about drinking water and hydration . . . but at least during the hotter months other people start paying attention.  I hear the question all the time, “How much water should you drink a day?”.

As with most of my answers – it depends.  It depends on your weight, your activity level, where you live, the weather . . . there’s never a simple one size fits all answer.  And, if anyone ever tells you different, run from them quickly.

Since we are headed into the hotter months, local television station KDRV asked that I drop by the studio and talk a bit about drinking water.  We did the first segment and then I had a number of calls and emails from people stating I forgot to show the simple test.

Very astute . . . I love you guys!

So a couple weeks later we offered another segment to make sure people really know how much water should you drink in a day.

Drinking Water – How to Get More

First up is the video on basic numbers for how much water should you drink in a day.  This is a basic guideline.  Plus there’s a few tips to help you drink more water – since most people need to be drinking water in greater quantities.

 

 

How Much Water Should You Drink in a Day

I know I stated, it depends.  Well here’s your personal answer.  Follow this simple test for drinking water and you will know exactly how much water you need to drink each and every day.

 

 

More videos, articles, audio & recipes:

Getting Water in Your Kids (without them knowing)

Water – Simple Solution for Pain Relief

Spinach Watermelon Salad

Plastic Bottles for Water?

 

 

 

Fat Burning Foods?  It’s True!

I love coconut oil.  I’ve written about coconut oil a number of times.  I’ve talked about coconut oil on radio shows (here’s one show).  Actually, when I searched “coconut” on my website, there were 18 pages with references!  So, yes, I’m a little coconut obsessed.  But I’d never had the opportunity to talk about coconut oil on television . . . until now!

Coconut oil for weight loss seemed like the ideal television segment since so many of us are looking for our bikini bodies right now.  Coconut oil is a wonderful fat burning food when used in moderation and will increase weight loss quickly.

Video

 

For more reading here is:

Coconut oil vs. olive oil

Coconut oil for great health

How to substitute coconut in recipes

A few coconut recipes:

Coconut Pancakes

Coconut Blueberry Banana Muffins (gluten-free)

Coconut Thai Soup

Are There Health Benefits to Eating Chocolate?

That was the question posed to be the week before Valentine’s Day. The timing couldn’t have been better. According to CNBC more than 18 million dollars worth of chocolate is sold in America and we each eat about 9 pounds of chocolate per year.

The week before Valentine’s Day the expected sales of chocolate were $448 million. That’s 58 million pounds of chocolate and about 36 million heart shaped boxes of chocolate. With these types of staggering numbers it’s no wonder people are wondering if there’s any health benefit to chocolate.

Here’s the Video:

The short answer . . . white chocolate = no real health benefit; milk chocolate = very minimal health benefit; dark chocolate = some health benefits. The best health benefits come from chocolate with at least 70% cocao and remember to enjoy in moderation as any health benefits will be ruined by overindulgence and excess calories.

Hope your Valentine’s Day included some tasty, health treats – chocolate or not.