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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that they will be changing nutrition labels in order to better help the public to read and understand them better.

New Nutrition Labels and Your Heart

With obesity among children and adults still on the rise, the FDA decided to take a direction.

They want Americans to better understand and realize all that they are putting in their bodies by changing nutrition labels.

By 2018, nearly all food manufacturers will have to change their labels.

To show the differences, here is a side by side comparison of the old and new nutrition labels:

new nutrition labels

Changes

The new labels will include larger fonts to give focus on calories and the serving size.

They also will take away “calories from fat” and give “sugars” a more noticeable spot.

Serving sizes will change to reflect the average amount of food that people eat.

That way it is more realistic and relatable than looking at a 1/4th cup of cereal in the morning as a serving size.

The FDA decided to add the amount of milligrams or grams of vitamins and minerals.

These vitamins and minerals include vitamins c and d, potassium, magnesium, and iron.

That way, you can get a more concrete idea of how much you need from other foods.

Also informs you if the food you are about to eat is something you truly want to delve into.

It’s also a positive change because vitamins like potassium are good for the heart because they help to lower blood pressure and is one of the key electrolytes to keep our bodies moving the way they should.

Additional Changes

One of the other changes is that the new nutrition labels will show any amount of added sugars to the food.

Added sugars are not natural to the particular food and can be detrimental to your heart by raising blood pressure.

High sugar content over a period of time can also contribute to obesity, which creates a higher risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

Drinks will also be affected by the changes.

For example, rather than having a bottle of soda’s nutrition label be 2 servings, it will be one.

That way, people may be less likely to consume the whole drink at once.

Sports drinks and sodas are high in sugar, calories, and sodium.

They usually tip the scale of how much you need when added to a typical American diet and can contribute to high blood pressure.

By limiting or completely eliminating these drinks from your diet, your cardiovascular and digestive health may improve.

These new nutrition labels can help increase overall cardiovascular health throughout the U.S. by bringing more attention to certain health information and also adding new information.

Foods that are high in salt, fat, or sugar can lead to heart problems like heart attack, heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.

With more appropriate food markings to show different facts stand out to consumers, making healthy choices may be easier.

Over time, the hope is that people truly see what is going into their bodies and prevent heart problems that may be caused by poor dieting.

Resources

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2016/jun/01/new-nutrition-labels-what-you-need-know/