Nutrition is More Than Calories

from REDNOVA

'Most people looking at nutrition labels focus on how much fat or how many calories a food contains.

They should be looking further, according to two registered dietitians who will be featured today on the Deseret Morning News/ Intermountain Health Care Hotline. Deon Gines and Tracy Herrmann, both of LDS Hospital, will answer questions from 10 a.m. to noon about food, nutrition labels and more.

"A lot of people look at calories," said Gines. "That's healthy to a lot of people."

When people are done counting calories or fat grams, Gines said they should look closely at the row marked "serving size." The nutrition facts label shows how many servings are included in the package as well as how large each serving is.

Many people think a can of tuna has a low calorie count -- 50 to 70 calories -- but that is only for one serving, and there is more than one serving in each can, Gines said. Grape-Nuts cereal, she said, has a serving size of one-fourth cup. By that scale, people usually eat several servings at one time.'