Does Fat Free Really Mean Free Of Fat?

Does fat-free really mean free of fat?

Do you know what the words really mean on food labels?

In this article, you’ll discover everything you need to know
about how to interpret food labels and make the right food
choices.

So what does “fat-free” really mean?

To be labeled “fat-free”, the food must contain less than ½ gram
of fat per serving.

To be labeled “Low Fat”, the food must contain 3 grams or less
of fat per serving.

To be labeled “Reduced Fat”, the food must be at least 25
percent lower in fat than a comparable food.

To be labeled “Light”, the food must contain 1/3 fewer calories,
OR ½ the fat OR 2/3 the sodium of a comparable food (but not
necessarily all three!).

Some foods (especially meat and dairy products) appear to have
less fat than they really do. For example, if a milk or cheese
label reads 2% milk or 2% cheese, this means that 2 percent of
the product volume (NOT the calories) comes from milk fat.

You can use a little math to discover how much fat these
products actually contain.

First, find the total calories per serving and the fat calories
per serving. For example if the total calories per serving are
80 and the fat calories per serving are 50, divide the fat
calories per serving by the total calories per serving.

Then, multiply that number by 100 and you’ll have the total
percent of fat calories in the food. In this example, 50 fat
calories divided by 80 total calories equals .625 times 100
equals 62½%. In this example, nearly 63 percent of the total
calories of this food are from fat!

Also, using the math above, you can figure out how much fat that
2 percent milk, 2 percent cheese, 2 percent cottage cheese and
lean ground beef contain. You’ll probably discover these foods
are mush “fatter” than you realized!

Trans fats should be avoided as much as possible as they can
increase your risk of heart disease. Trans fats are also known
as hydrogenated fats and are added to many processed foods
including most baked foods (crackers, cookies, breads, etc.).

If the food contains trans fats, the ingredient label will
usually read: contains hydrogenated oil OR partially
hydrogenated oil OR vegetable shortening OR margarine. Avoid
these foods like the plague!

By knowing how to read food labels and understanding the word
“fat”, you can purchase diet foods more wisely and lose weight
successfully.

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