San Bernardino-Riverside Counties
Health Collaborative NetCom III
Policies - Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol mean?

On food labels, these terms are legally defined. Lowfat means 3 grams or less fat per serving. Low saturated fat means 1 gram or less fat per serving. Low cholesterol is defined as 20 milligrams or less per serving. These numbers are very helpful when you have a food label right
in front of you. But what about the foods that come from a bakery or deli, or foods that are made at home? If there is no nutrient data available, you will have to use common sense when buying or making these dishes and bringing them to work related events. In general, any foods that contain fat as a major ingredient are not considered healthy foods and are not good choices. Foods that generally do not fit into this category include:
high fat meats
high fat dairy products (foods with full fat cheese, cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese)
foods made with a lot of margarine, butter or egg
most creamy salads (potato, macaroni and pasta salads)
fried foods (chips, French fries, egg rolls, doughnuts, etc)
2. What is the definition of low sugar?

Foods low in sugar should contain less than 35% of sugar by weight. Foods with a lot of added sugar, and many processed foods do not fit into this category. Cakes, cookies, pies and candies have a high percent of sugar by weight.

3. How can I figure out if a product is <35% of calories from fat? <10% of calories from saturated fat? <35% sugar by weight?

These simple calculations can be derived from the Nutrition Facts Label, located on the product package.

To figure percent of calories from fat, use this simple equation:
Grams of fat per serving x 9 X 100
Calories per serving
Saturated fat uses the same equation, just substitute grams
of saturated fat for grams of fat. To find percent sugar by weight, take the grams of sugar from the nutrition facts label and divide by total grams per serving. Then multiply by 100
for a percent value.
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