How to Make Healthier Snack Choices Using Nutrition Facts Labels Canada

Eating between meals is considered normal for most people in Canada because they snack in order to fight hunger at mid-morning, afternoon or any other time of the day or because they snack for fun. However, as the business people say it not all the snack are the same. Some can contain such unpleasant additives as added sugars, unhealthy fats, and sodium that make them not very healthy. All the same, the existing nutrition facts labels in Canada contain information to assist you in making a better choice of snack foods. With this knowledge about these labels you can then make conscious decision that will enable him/her to achieve his/her health goal.

 

Learning the Facts and Myths about Labels

The nutrition facts labels in Canada are intended to enable shoppers to obtain specific information relating to the nutrient composition of foods. They include essential details such as:

·        Serving size

·        Calories

·        Carbohydrates, fats and proteins related data is referred to as Macronutrients.

·        Micronutrients are commonly referred to as vitamins and minerals.

·        Percent Daily Value (%DV) is used to communicate how much of a particular nutrient is contributing towards your daily dietary intake when assuming one’s daily caloric intake to be 2,000.

Knowing the way of how this information is read and decoded, you can formulate a right perspective on the level of nutritional value of snacks you take.

 

Check the Serving Size

The serving size on a nutrition facts label may be one of the most valuable pieces of information according. What many people do not realize is that a number of pre-packaged snack products are divided into several servings despite the packs’ single serving container. That is, calling for instance, a small bag of chips will have the nutritional value per half bag to mean that if the whole bag is taken, what is consumed is double the calories, fat, and sodium of what is indicated on the label.

 

Serving size should also be checked before making the snack selection and the data given herein should be corrected to reflect this. This will let you know how many calories are in your dish and will also make it easier for you avoid overeating.

 

Pay Attention to Calories

Calories are without doubt the most crucial aspect as far as weight and health issues are concerned. It is always good to take snacks, but ensuring that they’re the lower calorie snacks are important in NVDP. As to similar snack products compare the serving sizes and their calorie content; choose the one which contains fewer calories but at the same time is not deprived of the necessary nutrients.

 

For instance, when one is for a high calorie chocolate bar, he/she should opt for fruits or nuts with lesser calories.

 

Focus on Macronutrients

When selecting snacks, it’s important to consider the macronutrient composition:

Carbohydrates: Instead of choosing snacks with only refined sugars opt for those with more complicated carbohydrates like whole grain foods and fruits and vegetables. It contains carbohydrates and the kind of carbohydrates that are known to give lasting energy and fiber which is essential for good bowel.

Proteins: Ensure the snacks you choose are rich in protein, these include; yogurt, nuts, or hummus. Protein aids to reduce hunger deeds and enhances muscle retention.

Fats: Choose snacks that contain healthy fats including avocados, nuts and seeds. Reduce on snacks that are prepared from saturated and trans fats, these are heart disease inducing.

Watch Out for Added Sugars

In consumption of more sugar it has impact on weight gain, diabetes and other side effects. Food labels in Canada indicate the total sugars present in the food together with sugars added during food preparation. Select those snacks that are least processed and contain low amounts of sugars and for those that are naturally sweet, such as fruits or unsweetened yogurt.

 

Keep Sodium in Check

Most of the processed snacks contain plenty of sodium which is a leading cause of high blood pressure and other related health complications. The %DV for sodium on the nutrition facts label will allow you to compare a snack to a low or high sodium food. It is recommended that individual must go for snacks that has sodium density of less than 5% DV per serving.

 

Conclusion

To make the right healthy snacking choices it is crucial to know how to correctly understand and use nutrition facts labels in Canada. You can then choose snacks based on serving sizes, fats content, total calories and added sugars as well as sodium. Remember it does not take much practice to make a practice out of snacking wisely to your body.