Ten health claims about the relationships between a nutrient or a food and the risk of a disease or health-related issue are now permitted on food labels.

Table of Contents for "Nutrition Facts" Label Getting Started Food Guide Pyramid Review Introduction What's on the Label Nutrition Facts Label Descriptive Terms Nutrient Content Claims Health Claims Summary Web Sites to Visit Review questions Back to Nutrition Curriculum Lessons

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Health Claims

Ten health claims about the relationships between a nutrient or a food and the risk of a disease or health-related issue are now permitted on food labels. These claims are based on sound research. Claims are approved in 10 areas:

• Calcium and osteoporosis
• Sodium and hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Dietary fat and cancer
• Dietary saturated fat and cholesterol and risk of coronary heart disease
• Fiber-containing grain products, fruits and vegetables and cancer
• Fruits, vegetables and grain products that contain fiber, particularly soluble fiber and risk of heart disease
• Fruits and vegetables and cancer
• Folic acid and neural tube birth defects.
• Dietary sugar alcohols and dental caries (cavities).
• Dietary soluble fiber, such as that found in whole oats and psyllium seed husk and coronary heart disease.

Summary

Take a minute to brainstorm. List the 10 top reasons for reading a food label.

Take a look at one of the food packages you pulled from your pantry. Write down five things that the label tells you about the food inside.

Suppose you were choosing a breakfast cereal. What might make you buy one over the other? How would you decide which one had the nutrients you need? The Nutrition Facts panel on the label can help you compare the calories and nutrients of these cereals, and help you make an informed choice.

Reading a food label helps you make food choices within the Food Guide Pyramid. The food label is good reading for healthy eating. You can tell a lot about a food just by reading the label. This is one of the best sources of information available to you.

Remember, the Dietary Guidelines, Food Guide Pyramid and Nutrition Facts label work together to help you and your family eat more healthfully. The Dietary Guidelines set up guidelines for Americans households follow to maintain health. The Food Guide Pyramid is a picture guide based on the Dietary Guidelines, and the food label helps you to make healthy choices within these groups. Here's wishing you and your family healthy eating!

Web Sites to Visit and Other Assignments

Web Site Assignments

Explore this web site http://www.nutritioncamp.com/index.html. This is a Kellogg's web site. Go to the Learning Lab and then click on Label Lore. See what you can learn.

This site has activities for you to complete to practice what you have learned.

Visit the web site http://www.phys.com as discussed earlier in the lesson within the section, Nutrition Facts Label.

Other Assignments

On your next trip to the grocery store, compare the following foods:

• frozen green beans and canned green beans for sodium content
• skim milk, low-fat milk, reduced-fat milk and whole milk for fat and calcium content
• various breakfast cereals for fiber content
• frozen dinners for nutrition, convenience and cost
• soft drinks for nutrition and cost
• chips for nutrition and cost

References

Browne, Mona Boyd. Label Facts for Healthful Eating. Educator's Resource Guide.

National Food Processors Association in Cooperation with FDA and USDA.. 1993.

Facts About the New Food Label. American Heart Association. 1993.

FDA Consumer, Focus on Food Labeling. FDA Consumer Special Report. May, 1993.

Nutrition Labeling of Meat and Poultry. FSIS Backgrounder. 1991.

The New Food Label. FDA Backgrounder. 1991.

The New Food Label and You. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
1993.

The New Food Label...There's Something in it for Everybody. Department
of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration and International Food Information Council. July, 1994.