Nutrition Facts

When it comes the labels on the food we are eating, most of us look for only one reason: to find out the facts about what we are taking into our bodies. By law in Canada, every food product sold must contain several bits of information detailing what the product contains. This is convenient for health conscious Canadian families, as it means that you don't have to run out and employ the services of a Toronto search firm in order to find out what is in your supper.

Unfortunately, most food product labels do require a bit of decoding in order to be read properly for nutrition's sake. Food production companies are well aware of the fact that certain ingredients may turn consumers off of their products. For this reason, you won't find the labels as easy to read as those on, say, ladies' sweaters. There are no descriptive details, just stark information about the ingredients in the can.

For this reason, it is important not just to read the labels on the food you consume, but to understand what the information is telling you as well. Let's see what you can glean from labels when it comes to nutrition.

Right at the top of every label, you will see a wide section reading nutrition facts. This is where the percentages and numbers important to most Canadians are contained. This section tells you how much of each vitamin or mineral is contained in the product. Usually this information is given in terms of a percentage, and indicates how much of the recommended daily amount of the substance is found in a certain measurement. It will also include the amount of calories contained in that measurement.

The tricky thing with the facts part of most labels is the way in which that amount is portrayed. It would seem reasonable to assume that the measurement size on the label would be the same as the amount of product, but this is often not the case. For example, a 1 litre bottle of Coca Cola has its nutrition facts section listed at 355 mL, or one can. To get the actual amount represented by drinking the entire bottle, you have to multiply all the numbers by approximately three. Many companies use this "trick" to make products seem less disastrous to your health than they really are.

Ingredients

The ingredients will also give you some good clues as to the nutrition facts in that food product. Here, Canadian law requires that all items included in the product be listed. It's great for those concerned about their fitness, Toronto residents and all other Canadians included, because it allows for no secret damaging ingredients.

Again, we will take a can of Coke. A scan of the ingredients would seem to indicate that Coke isn't all that bad, but a closer look reveals something a little bit sinister. It seems as though one of the main ingredients in many people's favourite beverage is phosphoric acid, also famous for rotting away the skin of bad guys in James Bond-style booby traps.

When it comes to nutrition facts, labels will only usually help with the actual contents of the can. They won't tell you if the product was made in a plant next to an area requiring water treatment chemicals, or a lot of other useful information. Still, understanding the meaning behind the facts on labels can help point you in the right direction when it comes to planning your dietary lifestyle.