Often, the nutrients that claim to be "calorie-free" does not mean that the product contains zero calories. There are still some calories, but they are considered sufficiently low to allow such a proclamation.
Similarly, the food "fat free" may not necessarily be healthier because they could contain lots of carbohydrates instead.
It reveals below mentions frequently encountered on food labels and numerals corresponding:
1) No Sugar
A food "sugar free" means it does not bring more than 0.5 grams of sugar ( carbohydrates ) per serving.
Please note that some foods "sugar free" may contain significant amounts of fat.
2) "No sugar added" or "no salt added"
While sugar or sodium components were not added to foods so labeled, they may still contain their natural quantity of sugar or salt (and this quantity can be important, look out the nutritional information on packaging ).
These references are part of a "trick" of industrial food marketing to attract the attention of consumers (potential buyers) on their products. This trick is not false advertising because the manufacturers have not really added, but can "cheat" if a potential buyer is not careful at the time of purchase (buy a food thinking "no sugar "for short).
Some examples are honey and fruit juices that naturally have a certain amount of sugar, but that can be labeled "no sugar added."
Therefore, look carefully at the particulars of sugar (in the " carbs ") or other energy levels in the nutritional information label for details. Furthermore, watch for foods that are "no sugar added" but that might include sweeteners (e.g., the aspartame ), a kind of fake sugar, which officially does not add carbohydrates in food.
Remember that 10 grams of carbohydrate in a drink 100 ml equivalent to five sugar cubes in a glass of 25 cl.
3) Sugar modified.
Usually, this means that sugar substitutes such as sorbitol or mannitol are used.
It is best that you avoid these sugar substitutes because they have the same energy as sugar.
4) Fat
A food that is "no fat "does not bring more than 0.5 grams of fat per serving. For liquid foods, this means less than 0.15 grams of fat per 100 ml.
As for food "low fat ", they should not contain more than 3 grams of fat per serving.
Beware, some food "fat free" or "low fat" may contain large amounts of sugar instead, this sugar as a substitute for fat to provide flavor or give texture to the food.
5) Without trans fat
A food " no trans fat "contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.
The food manufacturers are not required to report the amount of trans fat if it occurs naturally (as in some meats and dairy products).
There is currently no scientific evidence that this type of trans fat is linked to heart disease.
However, we recommend limiting daily intake of trans fat to less than 2 grams per day.
6) Cholesterol
A food "no cholesterol" contains to smaller extent than 5 mg of cholesterol and less than 1.5 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams. The reason is that cholesterol is supposed to be found in foods of animal origin.
However, products that are labeled "no cholesterol" may still be high in saturated fats.
Note that there is good and bad cholesterol ( HDL cholesterol and.
LDL cholesterol ). Cholesterol is not necessarily bad all the time.
7) Without calories
This label refers to a food that contains less than 5 calories per serving and no more than 1 calorie per 100 grams.
Food "light in calories "should not contain more than 40 calories per serving.
8) High in fiber
A food is "high fiber" if it contains at least 4 grams of fiber per serving, or at least 6 grams of fiber per 100 grams.
9) Whole Grains
Whole grains restrain all three components of natural grain: the endosperm, bran and germ.
Whilst grains are processed or refined, one or more of these parts could be eliminated.
Foods made from more than 50% whole grains are considered good sources of complete grains.
Normally, you can identify a whole foods (rich in whole grains) easy tasks since grains are visible on the surface or in food.
