Focus on Nutrition Facts for more informed eating
There’s so much talk during the holidays about over indulging or depriving ourselves. Food is a big part of the season but there are a lot of pitfalls. I’m hyper aware of using language that will shape how my kids think about food and body image. And my daughter has an Intellectual Disability which greatly increases her risk of obesity later in life. So I was interested in learning how I can use the Nutrition Facts table to #FocusontheFacts to make more informed choices for the whole family.
I work hard to maintain my “everything in moderation” policy but I sometimes have trouble figuring out if I’m being moderate or not. I was at the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair and had the pleasure of spending some time with the team that travelling across the country urging Canadians to “Focus On the Facts”.
This Nutrition Facts Education Campaign was created to help Canadians make informed choices when looking at the Nutrition Facts table. You can learn more at about #focusonthefacts and the program here. My 7 year old boy and I listen carefully to all the information and then had to put our knowledge to the test. Luckily we passed with flying colours. Seems it’s never too early to start talking about the food we choose to eat.
Here’s what we learned
You can use the serving size and % DV on the Nutrition Facts table to choose foods that have more of the nutrients you want, and less of those you don’t. So if you’re looking for more fibre and calcium and less saturated and trans fats, and sodium you zone in on those areas. If the Percent Daily Value is more than 15%, a product has a lot of that nutrient. If it has less than 5% is has a little. Any anything in between is a neither more or less.
What does “focus on the facts” mean for moderation?
Well, it means you can look at the food you’re buying and easily decide it if has too much of nutrients you’re trying to avoid and enough of the nutrients you want to eat more. For me, it’s about the whole family choosing to eat less salt and more calcium and fibre when we can. Will we still eat salt? Yes, we will. But when I’m at the grocery store, I can choose the items with just a little of that, and a lot of the others. I took to my cupboard and compared three boxes of cereal in there. Looks like I’m on the right track, but might not choose the one on the right next time.
Everybody needs different serving sizes and has different dietary needs, but this easy trick means you can make informed choices when you’re choosing what to buy for you and your family.
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This post was sponsored by the Nutrition Facts Education Campaign but all opinions expressed in this post are all my own.
Melanie from mommydo.com writes about parenting, food, neat stuff and the unexpected beauty in life, all while juggling work, family life and spreading awareness and raising funds for Williams Syndrome.
It’s refreshing to hear about your commitment to using the Nutrition Facts table to guide your family’s food choices. Your dedication to teaching your son about making balanced decisions at such a young age is inspiring. I agree, moderation is key, and understanding what’s in our food helps us achieve that balance. Thanks for sharing your insights and experiences!