It's that time of year to come up with a New Year's Resolution! What's yours?

I have several:

1. Develop better sleep habits (in bed by midnight!)
2. Consistently eat a nutritious diet
3. Get some form of exercise everyday
4. Strengthen my relationships with God, friends and family (here's an insightful article from the Wall Street Journal... thanks Emilia!)

Wall Street Journal: Making 2011 the Year of Great Relationships

I feel that my subconscious mind is always in a never-ending pursuit of these things -whether it's the new year or not. So I guess the new year is really just a good way to bring these things back to my conscious mind. Yay for that! : P

Anyway... back to talking about that nutritious diet!

 
Let's take a close look at FDA's (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) food label in efforts to better understand what we're actually eating. Let's start with the top of the label and work our way down.

First, there's the Serving Size...

The Serving Size section shows how many servings are in the package, and how big the serving is. Serving sizes are given in familiar measurements, such as “cups” or “pieces.”   

Remember: All of the nutrition information on the label is based upon one serving of the food, but a package of food often contains more than one serving!

Serving size is the key to the rest of the information on the Nutrition Facts Label.

• The nutrition information about the food – like the calories, sodium, and fiber – is based upon one serving.  
• If you eat two servings of the food, you are eating double the calories and getting twice the amount of nutrients, both good and bad. 
• If you eat three servings, that means three times the calories and nutrients – and so on.

That is why knowing the serving size is important. It’s how you know for sure how many calories and nutrients you are getting.


Coming Soon: We'll continue to work our way down the Nutrition Facts food label... Calories


*Information Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Using the Nutrition Facts Label How-To-Guide for Older Adults
*Disclaimer: I'm not a health expert, I am simply researching and sharing my findings.