David Hack, Freelance Writer

Eating by the numbers

Do you get confused by the numbers related to nutrition? One popular diet recommends that you count grams of carbohydrates and limit your daily intake of breads, cereals and vegetables. Another suggests that you count the amount of sugar in foods and eat according to the glycemic index. Some would recommend that you count the amount of protein in foods and limit the meat and dairy products you eat each day.

Most foods at the grocery have a food label that is based on a per day consumption of 2,000 calories. But what exactly is 2,000 calories and is that how many you need? What is it that you should be counting?

“Everyone is different and your nutritional needs depend on your size, your activity level, and your metabolism,” said Jennifer Willems, registered dietitian for the Collins Road and Mt. Vernon Road Hy-Vees in Cedar Rapids. For example, a 20 year old, 150 pound marathon runner can eat many more calories than a 70 year old, 150 pound person confined to a wheel chair.

It may take a dietitian to determine exactly the number of calories each of us needs, but there are many formulas to help us determine a general range of calories to consume each day. One simple way to estimate your personal need to maintain your present weight is to multiply your body weight by 15 or 16. Multiply your body weight by 12 or 13 to lose weight and multiply body weight by 18 or 19 to gain weight. The resulting number can easily be compared to the figures on a food label.

SERVING SIZE -- Willems suggests that the first thing for everyone to look at on a label is the serving size. “Most of us don’t realize exactly what a single serving is,” she adds. For example, one serving of rice or pasta is ½ cup, roughly the size of a hockey puck. A serving of meat is 3 ounces, the size of a deck of cards. One teaspoon of margarine is the size of a penny.

SATURATED FAT -- Another important consideration is saturated fat, which raises blood cholesterol levels and is concentrated in animal products such as red meat, cheese, and dairy products. Less than 10 percent of your total calories should come from saturated fat. One gram of saturated fat has 100 calories. New government regulations will require that trans fatty acids (the really “bad” fats) be added to food labels under the saturated fat listing in January of 2006.

SODIUM -- A third factor that everyone should pay attention to is the amount of sodium intake. Salt can elevate blood pressure and your daily limit is 2,400 mg of sodium per day. This is about 1¼ teaspoons.

FIBER -- A fourth consideration from a food label that Willems recommends for everyone is the amount of dietary fiber. People should select carbohydrate foods that are high in fiber because dietary fiber has been shown to reduce cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains are suggested. Limit the amount of “refined” products such as bread and pastas made with processed white flour.

Aside from these general considerations, there are many people with special health problems such as heart disease and diabetes that further confuse the numbers game. People with heart disease need to be especially concerned with grams of fat, while people with diabetes need to concentrate on grams of carbohydrates.

“I recommend that people see a licensed dietitian to get a personal assessment of needs. We don’t need to get all wrapped up in numbers,” Willems said. “For example, people can learn to use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Color Code to develop healthy eating habits.”

The Food Guide Pyramid was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is a graphic representation of the number of servings of each food group that a healthy person requires. Color Code eating is a plan for developing healthy eating habits based not on counting anything but servings of a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.

“The important thing to remember is that making dietary changes is a lifestyle change, a change for the long run,” Willems says. “People need to focus on changing eating habits that they can sustain for a lifetime, not short-range gains and losses.”

Sidebar: Helpful Web sites

• http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html -- This site, developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, provides detailed guidance on how to understand and use the nutrition facts panel on food labels.

• www.nutri-facts.com -- This free site allows the visitor to find nutritional information about thousands of specific food products.

• www.eatright.org -- This is the official Web site of the American Dietetic Association.

• www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm -- This site provides a detailed, comprehensive look at the food guide pyramid and how to use it to develop healthy eating habits.

• www.innerself.com/Health/nadeau09253.htm -- This site is an overview of color code eating, a healthy eating program referred to by Jennifer Willems, licensed dietitian.

Cedar Rapids Gazette, Mind & Body, January 10,2004