Nutrition facts

Do you know how to read them?

I know It may seem like a simple task to you, but to a lot of others it is a very confusing thing. For Diabetics our main focus should always be how many carbohydrates are in the item we are choosing. In order to find that, you need to look at the total carbohydrates to determine if it is in fact worth it. Yesterday I took a trip to the supermarket and I learned a few things about cereal that I never did before. But before we start with that, I wanted to quickly explain the role of carbohydrates for people who are unaware.

Carbohydrates...

is something that is found in almost every food such as some dairy products, rices, pastas, some vegetables, cereals, cookies and many other things. The role of the carbohydrates is to give us e-n-e-r-g-y. Once the carbohydrates are in your system they break down into SUGAR, and from there it does it's duty. This is why us diabetics need to focus on carbohydrates because it transforms into SUGAR once in the body, and this is what our bodies don't have the ability to break down.

Back to the cereal. I know many of you are familiar with the brand "Raisin Bran". This is supposed to be a healthy cereal. Now, I am not claiming that it isn't, however for diabetics it is extremely high in carbs.

Look at the Total carbohydrates: 46g! That's a lot of carbohydrates for 1 CUP of cereal. Remember, when reading these labels these numbers are according to the serving size at the top. & according to raisin bran it's per cup. Then, you would have to add the carbs from the milk, which for me would be and extra 13 carbs. I personally like to add bananas to my cereal and that would be another 15 carbs added. A total of 74 carbs, for a bowl of cereal(cup of cereal in this case). Wouldn't you rather have a much more filling meal for 74 carbs? Instead try a half cup of brown rice, with a cup of mixed vegetables carrots, corns, peas; for protein a nice oz of grilled salmon or chicken(for seafood haters) and some cherries and jello for dessert! And for a beverage, try some diet Gingerale or water. That would equal to a total of about 55 carbs. That's even less for a bowl of cereal...seriously...

Sodium

For those of you who need to be careful of your sodium intake. 210mg. Now I know not everyone knows what that means, I will explain. For someone watching there sodium you want things of low sodium, meaning anything under 140mg of sodium. So, this cereal would not be good for you. For moderate amounts above 140mg to about 400mg. & high would be anything above that. Which rank do you fall in? You should take a look at your cereal nutrition facts.

Potassium

This is simpler because potassium is very good for you.  It serves as a support for a healthy heart function. It's great for your bones and muscles and ensuring a sufficient function of your digestive system. According to many articles getting about 1600-4000 milligrams of potassium daily is a sufficient amount. Fact: Bananas have a high level of potassium!

Total fat

The less fat the better. Although there are some fats that are good for you such as the mono and polyunsaturated fats. These fats help to lower your cholesterol and protection from heart disease! Saturated fats do the opposite! The main idea is to have as low fats as possible!

Calories

I am sure this is the one people are most familiar with! If you are trying to gain or lose weight this is the most important for you of course. Pay attention by keeping a mental note of how many calories you intake daily. Usually the nutrition facts show a calorie diet of 2,000 daily, but that choice depends on YOU.

Now that I have gone over these nutrition facts with you it should be easier to make the right decisions. The healthier ones of course! I know that sometimes it may be difficult to understand why this happens to us, but understand that we can all be here for each  other, and as long as we are healthy we set a great example for those for us who are struggling worse than others. your good day may be somebody's bad day, give a smile and continue on.  If there are any questions of comments please don't hesitate to ask me anything at all via email, google+ doesn't matter, I'll always respond!

Some of the information provided was obtained from other sites. 
http://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/labelingnutrition/ucm274590.htm
http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/prevention-wellness/food-nutrition/nutrients/nutrition-how-to-read-a-nutrition-facts-label.html
Thank you all for reading, any questions or comments please don't hesitate to ask!
Keep pushing :)