Vegetarian Nation

You see these terms all the time on the food packages that you bring into your home, but do you know what they mean? They’re actually regulated by the government, and can only be used if certain criteria are met. Here they are:

· FREE - Contains none, or only “physiologically inconsequential” amounts of the stated nutrient

· LOW – Foods that can be eaten frequently without exceeding dietary guidelines for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, or calories.

o Low fat: 3 grams or less per serving

o Low saturated fat: 1 gram or less per serving

o Low sodium: less than 35 milligrams per serving

o Low cholesterol: less that 20 milligrams per serving

o Low calorie: 40 calories or less per serving

· GOOD SOURCE – Means that one serving of a food contains between 10 and 19 percent of the stated nutrient.

· HIGH – Means that one serving of a food contains 20 percent or more of the stated nutrient.

· REDUCED – Means that a nutritionally altered product contains 25 percent less of a nutrient or of calories than the regular product.

· LESS – Means that a food, whether altered or not, contains 25 percent less of a nutrient or of calories than the regular product.

LEAN and EXTRA LEAN can be used to describe the fat content of meat, poultry, game meat, and seafood as follows:

· LEAN – less than 10 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving and per 100 grams

· EXTRA LEAN – Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 milligrams per serving and per 100 grams.

LIGHT can mean three things:

· That a nutritionally altered product contains one-third fewer calories, or half the fat of the regular food.

· That the sodium content has been reduced by 50 percent

· That a property such as color or texture has been altered (light brown sugar)

VEGETARIANS YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF…

Anne Hathaway

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH

NutritionMD.org

http://www.NutritionMD.org/

COMING ATTRACTIONS

An activist’s page to show you simple things that you can do to benefit our planet, our environment, and the non-human animals that we share them with.

A ‘How to get started” page for any newbies that want to explore a vegetarian diet and lifestyle.

Thanks for stopping in. See you next month.