Understanding Nutrition Labels Part 1

Knowledge is power and knowledge is gained through education.  While working with college athletes every day, we all understand the value of an education.  They come to us with little time, little patience, and little interest in devoting any extra time to areas besides athletics and academics.  Therefore, as coaches we must choose wisely when we educate on areas like nutrition.  Knowing time is limited, and also knowing there is no quick fix or easy answer to areas as complex as nutrition, I do my best to answer simply and concisely while leaving opportunities to learn more.  In doing so, I provide my athletes with guidelines and principles to lead a better lifestyle rather than impose strict rulings on what they can and cannot eat. 

One of the first areas I focus on is food labels and becoming more comfortable with reading what is inside their favorite foods.  Products such as cereals, nuts, juices, or basically anything found in the middle section of the grocery store has a nutrition facts label.  The first area I want them to look at is serving size.  They should understand what a serving actually looks like, how many servings are in each package, and exactly how many calories are in a serving size.  Because serving sizes are described using terms such as cups, grams, etc., I do my best to illustrate what a cup, a 1/2 cup, a TSP, etc. looks like in relation to objects they would recognize.  For example a cup is roughly the size of a fist or a tennis ball, and a teaspoon is the size of a postage stamp.  With using analogies athletes can understand, it helps them to understand how many servings they are actually consuming.  Listed below are a few examples to illustrate serving sizes.

½ cup of fruit juice = size of a 4 oz.  Juice box

1 cup = size of baseball

½ cup = size of computer mouse

1 TBSP = size of 9-volt battery

3 oz. = size of a deck of cards

1 tsp. = 1 die

“Serving size” is the standard portion size for the food. Calories and nutrients are listed for one serving, so comparing across brands is made easier.  “Servings per container” is the number of servings in the entire package. Even if the package appears to be a single serving, it may contain two or three. A little math will inform athletes about what they are getting in more than one serving, which may be necessary to meet energy requirements. 

Understanding the total amount of calories needed for each athlete is beyond the scope of this article.  However, what is important is simply becoming aware of how much and what kinds of foods they are putting in their body.  Because most of pre-packaged foods are carbohydrate in nature, we discuss the better types of carbohydrates they should be ingesting and how it can play an important part in their training and performing.  For instance, choosing whole grain products (i.e. cereals, granola bars, breads) such as whole rye or whole wheat will fuel their bodies longer and provide greater amounts of energy and fiber throughout the day.  The only time I tell my athletes to stay away from complex carbohydrates is right before or during exercise to avoid gastrointestinal issues.  Also, I educate my female athletes on the importance of iron in their daily nutrition and tell them to select grains with 10% or more of their Daily Value for iron.

Simply understanding serving sizes, portions, and total calories within foods starts the process of making athletes aware.  With awareness comes change and understanding.  Therefore this becomes an ongoing process of educating and learning rather than dictating and regurgitating.  I want these athletes to truly know and understand what it is they are putting in their body just like they know how to squat or hang clean.  In the next instalment of this series, we will look further down the nutrition label at Total Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Carbohydrate, and Protein and discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of each.