Hello Steller Community,

Obesity is a health risk for many people. However, there are always things we can do to overcome the risk by simply checking our food nutrition facts labels, learning about portion sizes and decreasing large amounts of sugary drinks. In January 2020, the FDA came out with new labeling standards for the larger manufacturers and by 2021 for the smaller and specialty manufacturers.

New nutrition facts labels: What you should know

According to the Providence Nutrition Team, changes to nutrition facts labels started coming out in early January, and perhaps you have started to see the new differences. Even if you haven’t seen them yet, knowing how the labeling standards have changed can help you understand how they can help with your diet. In the past, the old labels would indicate the total nutrition counts, but did not emphasize that these numbers indicated only a serving size when in fact there was two or more servings in the container. One would have to multiply these numbers by the total servings listed on the product. Now the labels indicate both information – nutritional facts for one serving and then the whole content of the package. Click on the above link to see a picture of the new labels and more information.

With this said, it is also very important to rethink your drink and curb back the intake of sugary drinks. These drinks consumed on a daily basis and even several times a day can lead to serious health concerns such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, tooth decay and even death.  Soda and sugary drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 deaths among adults every year, according to a recent study by researchers at Tufts University published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. A regular drink serving size is 12 oz. per FDA guidance, but some often supersize and get 20 oz. plus instead, that’s almost three times the amount consumed at one time. Children get most of their added sugar by drinking it. Let’s switch out those sugary drinks for healthier drinks that contain no added sweeteners. The two best choices are water and white, unflavored milk.

Resources:

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/sip-smarter-infographic

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/rethink-your-drink-reducing-sugary-drinks-in-your-diet

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/science/2019/03/18/harvard-study-sugary-drinks-associated-with-greater-risk-premature-death/CftZjIIiPsjcvk3PWGOrNI/story.html