Not a month goes by that Barnes & Noble doesn’t get a shiny new diet book on its shelves. With everyone from independent documentaries to Dr. Phil telling us how to eat, and the government’s complicated new food pyramid, it’s no wonder many people are lost in a sea of restrictive diets and un-researched rumors.
Luckily there is still one place where you can find completely accurate, totally correct, and easily comparable information.

That’s right, it’s on the box.

If the idea of comparing nutritional facts baffles you, take a look at how one woman does it.

Julie’s standing in the cereal aisle at the store with two kids running around her. One wants Lucky Charms, the other wants Fruit Loops. Her husband tells her to pick up Fiber One, but she likes Special K. What’s a girl to do?

While the kids set down rules for a race to the dairy section and back, Julie grabs two boxes off the shelf and sets them up in her cart with all the facts facing her. Julie’s not a nutritionist, she’s never read any diet books, and she has no idea how antioxidants work. But she’s paid enough attention over the years to tell her what she needs to know:

1) Calories are meant to give us energy. We need them to keep going, but we should only have as many as we are likely to use.

2) Fat on the label becomes fat on the thighs. Still, there’s good fats and bad fats and an otherwise good food shouldn’t be rejected just because it’s a bit fatty.

3) Even Saturated Fat has benefits, but it shouldn’t be in everything you eat.

4) Carbs are like calories: take only what you need.

5) Fiber fills you up. The more you eat the less hungry you’ll be.

6) You’re never going to have too little sugar in your diet.

7) Protein is always a plus.

So she looks at the labels and sees that her husband’s Fiber One has only 60 calories, while her beloved Special K has 110. But Julie’s not easily fooled, and sees that the Fiber One serving size is half that of the Special K, meaning that all the values of Fiber One need to be doubled for her to accurately compare them. Now things become a bit more clear. What used to be very different calorie counts are now equal, and what used to be identical carbs are now 25 to 50 in favor of buying Special K. Of course now that it’s doubled the Fiber One has more fiber and protein that ever, and lately she’s been snacking at work because she’s still hungry after breakfast. Those extra carbs and calories will be worth it if it means no more midday muffins. She puts the Special K back on the shelf.

Now for the kids’ cereal? Maybe next week. That was plenty of math for one day.

Of course, next time Julie is in the cereal aisle there will be one less decision to make, and fewer muffins to buy. The time after that she’ll have chosen something for the kids, and after that made a few smart decisions surrounding boxed Macaroni & Cheese.

And that’s the smart way to do it. It’s okay if you go to the store this week and only make one informed choice, because it’s one more than you had before.

For those of you who can’t stomach the thought of standing in the middle of a grocery aisle staring at tiny print and doing dreaded mental math, there’s a great site I stumbled upon today called acaloriecounter.com. The primary function of this site is to allow you to instantly search and pull up anything from the USDA Food Nutrition Database, and even adjust the serving size to make it easier to compare. Even better is that you’ll find info not available in the store, like nutritional facts for an average apple.

You should also check out the articles on acaloriecounter.com. You’ll find super helpful, easily sortable charts on everything from fast food to candy, without ever getting out of your chair.

Of course, getting out of the chair once in a while might help you lose weight, too.

FCC Disclosure: This blog is produced by JBNI, the producer of over 33+ Curiously Effective Naturaceuticals like “Cirrin” that are Fast Acting and Feature Zero Side Effects.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/nutrition-articles.php

Consumers all over the United States may have noticed a recent trend in restaurant and fast food menus: information.

In the past year, several states and counties (in places such as California, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Oregon just to name a few) have passed or tried to pass legislation geared at helping Americans make more informed choices about what they eat by requiring chain restaurants to put calorie counts right on the menu. Which means you will already know about those 8 grams of saturated fat when you bite into your Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Croissan’wich.
The new laws are geared towards chains only, so Mom and Pop Diners and fancy high end restaurants won’t be bothered. While some say this is just big government babysitting, and people don’t want their meals ruined by facts, others attest that in this age of skyrocketing obesity people need to be informed.

I know what you’re thinking. You already know fast food is bad for you. You already know restaurant portions are huge in this country. But choices are made by specifics, not general knowledge. For example, did you know that a Quizno’s Tuna Melt has more calories than the Bacon Sub? And sure you can guess a Big Mac has more calories than the classic cheeseburger, but did you know it has less than a chocolate shake?

If these facts surprise you, you’re not alone. In a recent study in Washington State only 10% of people correctly guessed the Tuna Melt. And let’s face it, if you’re already at Quizno’s and both sandwiches cost the same and you like bacon just as much as you like tuna, wouldn’t this little insight sway you into savings an extra 600 calories?

The bottom line is that people are still going to eat what they want to eat. And people will still go out to fast food places and chain restaurants. But these days most Americans are so separated from the food they eat they don’t know where the calories are coming from. After all, a raspberry lemonade had got to be better for you than a Pepsi, right? Wrong.

My suggestion is that if nutritional menus are popping up in your area, don’t get sticker shock. We’ve passed the law here in King County, WA and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve started to use them the same way I use the menu prices. If I look at the $1.50 for Root Beer by itself, all I can think of is how I can get the same amount at Safeway for 59 cents. Instead I compare the $1.50 Root Beer to the $1.25 Iced Tea, and suddenly I’m in charge of my money again. I’m not wasting a dollar, I’m saving a quarter. Self delusional? Maybe. But I’m at a restaurant because I want to be there, not because it’s economical.

And you can do the same thing by comparing calories and picking the option that’s slightly better for you. Sometimes all you have time for is McDonald’s, and if that’s the case you might as well go for the lesser of two caloric evils.

And in that regard, the US Government is here to help.

Online Sources:

http://www.cspinet.org/new/200311051.html

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/387456_menulabeling12.html

No one in America has died of old age in decades. That’s because in 1951 the US eliminated the ‘old age’ classification on death certificates.

Lazy doctors.

FCC Disclosure: JBNI is the producer of this blog and 33+ Naturaceuticals with curious effects on your longevity

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