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Food Labels
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DianeR01 posted:
I was at the grocery store yesterday and was looking at labels on english muffins. Boy was I confused.

There was Lite, 100 Calorie multi grain, Whole Wheat, Honey Multi Grain, Extra Fiber and the list goes on. My problem was some of them including the extra fiber and lite were made with enriched wheat flour while the whole wheat and a couple of other were made with whole grain flour but were much higher in carbs because of honey or high fructose corn syrup. So how does the consumer make an intelligent choice?

I was thinking extra fiber is probably a good idea but it was made by adding other types of fiber to enriched wheat flour! So we just took something good and made it not so good? There were too many choices and variables, and that doesn't include the muffins with the rasins! I finally decided if the choice was so unclear there wasn't a good choice available and put them all back on the shelf.

I have never bought a lot of convience or prepared foods as I enjoy cooking but the more labels I read the more I understand the less processed food is, the better it is for me.

How do you make choices when there is no clear winner?
1 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:Food LabelsI was at the grocery store yesterday and was looking at labels on english muffins. Boy was I confused. <br /> <br />There was Lite, 100 Calorie multi grain, Whole Wheat, Honey Multi Grain, Extra Fiber and the list goes on. My problem was some of them including the extra fiber and lite were made with enriched wheat flour while the whole wheat and a couple of other were made with whole grain flour but were much higher in carbs because of honey or high fructose corn syrup. So how does the consumer make an intelligent choice?<br /> <br />I was thinking extra fiber is probably a good idea but it was made by adding other types of fiber to enriched wheat flour! So we just took something good and made it not so good? There were too many choices and variables, and that doesn't include the muffins with the rasins! I finally decided if the choice was so unclear there wasn't a good choice available and put them all back on the shelf. <br /> <br />I have never bought a lot of convience or prepared foods as I enjoy cooking but the more labels I read the more I understand the less processed food is, the better it is for me. <br /> <br />How do you make choices when there is no clear winner?
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depressed_one responded:
Diane,

Good for you to attempt to read food labels.

Yes they can be confusing. Let me provide my opinion.

I don't look so much at "whole wheat", "multi-grain", or "enriched fiober" as I do carb content and fiber content.

I look for the "net carb content and serving size to decide if it will fit in with my "Lifetime Eating Plan". These will determine if I will eat it and how much I will eat.

I tend to look more at fiber content because the more fiber you eat the lower your blood glucose will rise and it will work better to lower cholesterol.. I care not where my fiber comes from, j ust that I prefer to taste my fiber in the form of veggies and cereals rather than pills and powders.
Report This| Share this:Food LabelsDiane,<br /><br />Good for you to attempt to read food labels.<br /><br />Yes they can be confusing. Let me provide my opinion.<br /><br />I don't look so much at "whole wheat", "multi-grain", or "enriched fiober" as I do carb content and fiber content.<br /><br />I look for the "net carb content and serving size to decide if it will fit in with my "Lifetime Eating Plan". These will determine if I will eat it and how much I will eat.<br /><br />I tend to look more at fiber content because the more fiber you eat the lower your blood glucose will rise and it will work better to lower cholesterol.. I care not where my fiber comes from, j ust that I prefer to taste my fiber in the form of veggies and cereals rather than pills and powders.
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