National program takes guesswork out of healthy eating

With all of the fad diets and breakthrough food-related health discoveries constantly bombarding consumers, getting through the grocery store with just a handful of healthy foods almost needs a special college degree, especially for those trying to decipher nutrition labels.

The American Heart Association has developed a program to take away some of the guesswork. Savvy shoppers may have noticed the appearance of the red heart symbol with the white check mark on some packaged foods at their local grocery stores in recent years. In Los Altos, Safeway, Andronico’s, Draeger’s and Albertson’s all carry foods with the symbol. What does it mean? It means the product meets the American Heart Association’s nutritional criteria for heart-healthy levels of saturated fat and cholesterol per serving for most people over age 2.

The association’s national Food Certification Program was developed to help consumers find heart-healthy foods simply and reliably in an era when heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and the sale of prepackaged and frozen foods continues to outpace that of fresh foods. Food stores and restaurants throughout the country have teamed up with the association to carry products with the heart-check symbol on their shelves and on their menus.

Products that qualify for the American Heart Association’s Food Certification Program must contain a maximum of 3 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol and 480 milligrams of sodium; and a minimum of 10 percent of the daily value of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron or dietary fiber per standard serving. Meats with the heart-check symbol must meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture standards for “extra lean.”

Research shows that shoppers who read food labels cut about twice the amount of fat from their diet as those who don’t read labels; yet fewer than half of Americans read them, according to a recent American Heart Association survey.

The Food and Drug Administration has required that saturated fat and dietary cholesterol be listed on food labels since 1993. Next January, all labels will need to include trans fat information as well, since recent studies revealed that trans fat raises “bad” cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease.

When reading labels, the heart association recommends looking first for two red flags: saturated fat and cholesterol. Next, continue reading the food label for information on calories, sodium, added sugars and other ingredients your doctor may advise watching in your diet.

To reduce trans fat intake, the FDA recommends:

• Check the nutrition facts panel to compare foods because serving sizes are generally consistent in similar types of foods.

• Choose foods lower in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. For saturated fat and cholesterol, keep in mind that 5 percent of the daily value (% DV) or less is low and 20 percent or more is high. (There is no % DV for trans fat.)

• Choose alternative fats. Replace saturated and trans fats in your diet with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The latter fats do not raise LDL cholesterol levels and have health benefits when eaten in moderation. Sources of monounsaturated fats include olive and canola oils. Sources of polyunsaturated fats include soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil and foods like nuts and fish.

• Choose vegetable oils (except coconut and palm kernel oils) and soft margarines (liquid, tub or spray) more often because the amounts of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol they contain are lower than the amounts in solid shortenings, hard margarines and animal fats, including butter.

• Consider fish. Most fish are lower in saturated fat than meat. Some fish, such as mackerel, sardines and salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are being studied to determine whether they offer protection against heart disease.

• Choose lean meats, such as poultry without the skin and not fried, and lean beef and pork, not fried, with visible fat trimmed.

• Ask before you order when eating out. A good tip to remember is to ask which fats are being used in the preparation of your food when eating or ordering out.

• Watch calories. Don’t be fooled! Fats are high in calories. All sources of fat contain 9 calories per gram, making fat the most concentrated source of calories. By comparison, carbohydrates and protein have only 4 calories per gram.

The American Heart Association has developed a list of certified foods on its Web site heartcheckmark.org. The list is arranged by food type as well as brand. The online “Grocery List Builder” enables shoppers to create their own heart-healthy grocery list. For a free copy of the “Shop Smart with Heart” brochure, call (800) AHA-USA1.

- Family Features Editorial Syndicate contributed to this article.