FINDING THE FACTS -- THE NUTRITION FACTS

BY DR. KATHLEEN WOOLF, REGISTERED DIETITIAN

As a swimmer, your body needs nutrients to fuel your performance.  Which foods provide the nutrients required by your body?  Fortunately, food companies are required by law to give you the facts on the foods you eat.  However, it does take practice to understand these nutrition facts.  Here are some tips to help you with the process: 

• Ingredient list: Ingredients are listed in order by weight.  The ingredient used in the greatest amount is listed first followed by those in smaller amounts.  Try to limit foods where words like “sugar,”  “high fructose corn syrup,” “corn syrup,”  “sucrose,” or “hydrogenated oil”  appear early in the list of ingredients.  You may also want to choose foods that have a shorter ingredient list and limit foods where the ingredient list sounds like names from your chemistry class.
• Serving Sizes: The Nutrition Facts panel lists the serving size (i.e., 1 cup of cereal, 5 pretzels) and number of serving per container.  Pay attention to the serving size. It may not be the amount of food that you typically eat. The rest of the information on Nutrition Facts panel is based on this serving size.
• Calories: The number of total calories and calories from fat in a single serving of food is included in the Nutrition Facts.
• Nutrients: The Nutrition Facts panel lists the amount of total fat (g), saturated fat (g), trans fat (g), cholesterol (mg), sodium (mg), total carbohydrate (g), dietary fiber (g), sugars (g), protein (g) per serving size. For several of these nutrients, the percent of the Daily Value is also noted. The Daily Value is based on a 2000 calorie diet, which may not be appropriate for a growing and physically active swimmer.  However, you can look at these percentages to determine if the food is low (= 5%) or high (= 20%) for a given nutrient.
• Vitamins & Minerals: Information for four nutrients (vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron) must be included on the Nutrition Facts panel.  The amount is noted as the percent of the daily value.  Additional vitamins and minerals may be noted on the food label for some foods (i.e., fortified breakfast cereals).  Once again, a food with  = 5% of the daily value is a poor source while a food with = 20% of the daily value is considered a high source of the nutrient.

To help you pick between two similar items at the supermarket, compare the Nutrient Facts panel.  Which food provides more carbs?  Which has more fat?  Which food provides a higher percent of the daily value for vitamins and minerals?

What about when you eat in a restaurant?  New federal law may require fast food and other chain restaurants to provide nutrition information on menus and menu boards.  Some cities and states are have already implemented such policies. 

Use these Nutrition Facts to help you select the right nutrients for your body.  Food labels, menu labeling and menu boards can help you learn about what you are eating.

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