Don't Be Fooled By Fat Labels : SuperFoodsRx

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Don't Be Fooled By Fat Labels

Have you ever really looked at the fat content on your milk carton nutrition label? How about the fat content on reduced-fat cookies or crackers? And what really is the fat content on 'light' soup? Indeed, what does 2%, low-fat, reduced-calorie and 'light' truly mean?

For a product to use the term low-fat on its label and advertising, its total fat content must be 3 grams or less. Two percent (2%)milk really isn't low-fat because it has 5 grams of fat per serving - including 3 grams of the extra special artery-clogging saturated fat! In fact, 35 percent of the calories in a serving of 2% milk come from fat. For a healthy diet, it's best to use 2% milk only temporarily as you work your way down to 1% or better yet, Non-Fat milk.

If your can of soup (or any other product) says 'light' on the label, it may not be low-fat. 'Light' just means the product has half the fat of the regular version.

The reduced-fat label means just that - reduced fat. Not low-fat. For a product to be labeled reduced-fat it must be 25% less fat than the regular version. There are some reduced-fat products that have 35% or even 60% less fat than the original but the food companies proudly list this on the front of their packages. And did you know that reduced-calorie has the same fat content as reduced-fat? Surprise, it sure does.

Now that we've demystified, 2%, low-fat, 'light' and reduced calories, you'll be better able to choose the best food products to include in your healthy SuperFoodsRx diet.

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