Ways to Spot a Healthy Food

Food labels don't lie. But if you're one of the 60% of people who rely on them to make healthy choices and you don't know what to look for, they can deceive.

Kathy McManus, RD, director of the department of nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, offers five ways to sleuth out the truth.

Check the servings
If one package doesn't equal one serving, multiply the nutritional information by how much you're going to eat — especially calories: Packaged meals should contain no more than 400; snacks shouldn't exceed 150.

Be a serving size sleuth: Many bottled beverages contain 2-3 servings, so quenching thirst with a Snapple means you'll consume 300 calories and 69 g of sugar. If you're trying to slim down, don't drink your calories; choose water frequently and enjoy a flavored beverage as a once-in-a-while splurge.

Limit bad fats
Pick products with zero trans fat and low saturated fat — women on a 1,600-calorie diet need no more than 13 g daily. Look at the labels especially for high-fat items like junk food, cheese, and some meats.

Be a saturated fat sleuth: Snacks like potato chips are notoriously high in saturated fats. When adding a side to your sandwich, opt for baked or whole grain chips instead.

Pick low sodium
Most people get far too much sodium, and up to 75% of it comes from processed foods. Full meals shouldn't exceed 500 mg; cap your daily intake at 2,000 mg.

Be a sodium sleuth: Nothing packs on sodium like pretzels. In fact, eat two large sourdough pretzels like those pictured, left, and you've just downed 480 mg. So you don't max out, choose no-salt pretzels or brush some salt off the regular kind.

Fill up on fiber
Foods that contain 3 g or more can help reduce appetite and cholesterol.

Be a fiber slueth: Just a 1/2-cup serving of Kellogg's All-Bran cereal for breakfast starts your day with 10 g of fiber!

Go beyond sugar grams
Some healthy foods, like yogurt, are high in natural sugar. If the number of grams seems high, make sure the ingredient list doesn't contain added sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup.

Be a sugar slueth: When eating yogurt, choose brands that have 30 g of sugar or less.


Check out this link, it has some good suggestions for packaged foods.
http://online.prevention.com/bestpackagedfoods/index.html