LABELING LOW-FAT PRODUCTS

When trying to make sense of products labeled with light, low-fat, fat-free, reduced calorie, etc., you need to be familiar with food labels. You need to know the serving size in ounces and in grams (g), and the amount of fat in grams (g) to be able to make sense of the fat claims. For meats and poultry you need to know saturated fat and cholesterol as well. To look at reduced-calorie items, you need to know both the calories of the regular item as well as the "reduced" item’s calories.

FAT CLAIM

• Fat-free: less than 0.5 g of fat per serving
• Low-fat: 3 g or less of fat per serving
• Reduced or less fat: 25% or less fat per serving than the regular (full fat) product
• Lean: less than 10 g fat, 4.5 g or less saturated fat, less than 95 mg cholesterol per serving
• Extra lean: less than 5 g of fat, less than 2 g of saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per serving
• Calorie-free: less than 5 calories per serving
• Low-calorie: 40 or less calories per serving
• Reduced or fewer calories: 25% or less calories per serving than the regular (full fat) product

After understanding the amount of fat in a food, it is easy to see that a lower fat food often has less calories as well. There are some easy ways to cut fat, reduce calories and make better food choices, without losing many important nutrients that your body needs. To give examples of how this is done, let’s take a look at three common items: mayonnaise, milk, and potato chips vs. pretzels.

MAYONNAISE Hellman’s Mayonnaise Regular 1 TBSP 100 Cal. - 11 g Fat Hellman’s Reduced Calorie Mayo 1 TBSP 50 Cal - 5.1 g Fat Kraft Fat-Free Mayonnaise 1 TBSP 10 Cal - 0 g Fat 100 Cal/11 g Fat vs. 10 Cal/0 g Fat	MIRACLE WHIP Miracle Whip Dressing Regular 1 TBSP 70 Cal - 7 g Fat Miracle Whip Light 1 TBSP 40 Cal - 3 g Fat Miracle Whip Free 1 TBSP 15 Cal - 0 g Fat 70 Cal/7 g Fat vs. 15 Cal/0 g Fat
MILK Whole Milk (children age 1 to age 2) 8 oz. 150 Cal. - 8 g Protein - 8 g Fat 2% Milk (1% or less recommended) 8 oz. 121 Cal - 8 g Protein - 4.7 g Fat 1% Milk (for anyone over age 2) 8 oz. 102 Cal - 8 g Protein - 2.6 g Fat Fat-Free/Skim Milk (anyone over age 2) 8 oz. 86 Cal - 8 g Protein - 0.4 g Fat 150 Cal/8 g Fat vs. 86 Cal/0.4 g Fat	POTATO CHIPS VS. PRETZELS Regular Potato Chips 1 oz. 152 Cal - 10 g Fat Light/Low Fat Potato Chips 1 oz. 134 Cal - 6 g Fat Pretzels 1 oz. 108 Cal - 1 g Fat 152 Cal/10 g Fat vs. 108 Cal/1 g Fat