The United States Food and Drug Administration presents

"The Food Label and You."

Now here's your host, Dr. Samuel Franklin.

Hello.

I am Dr. Samuel Franklin with the United States

Food and Drug Administration.

Today, significant advances in the areas of nutrition science

and modern day chemistry make the United States one of

the foremost authorities in the production and supply--

[music]

We've all got to eat three squares a day:

breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

And most of the time I bet you don't even think

about what you're eating.

That's not good.

Your body is like a fine tuned machine.

The food you eat is the fuel that keeps you running,

but how do you know the nutritional value

in that cup of yogurt or that bowl of cereal?

Look on the label.

Hey, I'm Gia and I'm here to talk about

the nutrition facts label.

If you want to stay healthy and energetic,

then reading and understanding food labels can help you make

food choices that give you more energy

and help you feel your best.

And we can all use a little more brain power.

Don't say it.

Don't even think it.

There are three things you need to know about

the nutrition facts label, just three.

Calories, serving size, and percent daily value.

Got it?

Well, if you still feel kind of overwhelmed by the whole idea

of actually reading and understanding food labels,

you're not alone.

Let's see how much the ordinary person on the street knows

about this subject.

Thanks, Gia.

Well, it's a little cold for dining al fresco,

but we've got work to do.

Let's find our first victim.

So what do you think is the official serving size

of a bowl of cereal?

I think that one.

That one? Yes.

Two. Two?

'Cause I'd probably eat number two.

Totally two.

What would be the official serving size of cereal?

Number three. It looks like number three.

Tell me which number you think?

Bowl number two.

Your opinion on what you think an official serving size

of cereal might be.

Three. Would you eat what's in--

Oh, I didn't know. Bowl number three.

You would--big breakfast.

What's in bowl one, bowl two, or bowl three?

I would probably do two.

Would you point to what you think would be an official size?

I think it's a lot smaller than I usually have.

Lots more than I think it is.

I think it's gonna be number one.

My work is done here.

Okay, we're gonna make this easy to understand

because this can be confusing.

For instance, if I have 1 of those 20 ounce sodas,

how many servings is that?

One? Two? Twenty?

You're craving a nice, juicy burger.

How many calories are you getting?

Add cheese, supersize it, you know the calories are going

ka-ching, ka-ching.

But exactly how many are there?

If you eat 18 grams of fat, which is 28% DV at breakfast,

how much can you eat at lunch to remain below

the recommended daily value?

Have the salad.

Okay, it's not algebra, but you do need to do a little math

to make the best food choices you can.

To give us a hand, we've turned to the experts at CSI

to help us out, the calorie scene investigators.

[music]

Hey, don't tamper with the evidence.

What do we got so far, Sally?

Well, I think we're up against the toughest case

this lab has ever had.

I've got a serving of vanilla ice cream.

That's exhibit A in the new caloriemograph our lab just got.

Oh, yes.

We're the first to get the multimillion dollar

caloriemograph.

Checking calories, huh?

You know, calories provide a measure of how much energy

is in a serving of this food. That's right.

And calories are assessed based on serving size.

And as a calorie scene investigator,

I have come to find that appearances can be deceiving.

Consuming too many calories per day can lead to obesity

and being overweight.

Here's what doesn't add up, Derrick.

I'm getting a calorie reading of 150 calories for 1 serving

of exhibit A, vanilla ice cream, while an identical serving

of fruit juice pop is only 60 calories.

The same serving size of the frozen juice pop has almost

a third of the calories of exhibit A?

That's right.

Then let's call the juice pop exhibit B.

Good idea.

Let's check past histories to see if there's a trend.

Hand over those chips.

I want to get an analysis of them.

This isn't gonna be pretty.

[music]

Oh, only 170 calories per serving.

Not so bad.

But Derrick, do you know the reading I'm getting

for a serving size?

Nine to fifteen chips.

Yeah? No biggie.

Actually, it's really not very big.

The point is you've already had about 30 without even thinking.

How can this be? I didn't even eat the whole bag.

I've got to contact Lieutenant Vain

and tell him our new finding.

[music]

Thank you, Derrick.

Let me know when the final results are in.

Well, Pete, while we were making a case for calories,

Derrick seems to think that the answer lies in serving size.

And serving sizes are not always what they appear to be.

What's going on here?

Ma'am, this is a calorie scene investigation.

I'm CSI Lieutenant Vain.

I'm going to have to inspect your groceries

before you enter the scene.

What are you looking for?

We're looking for calorie content and its elusive

accomplice, serving size.

These will have to go back to the lab.

The lab? Why the lab?

Don't worry, ma'am.

With our multimillion dollar caloriemograph,

we can tell exactly how many calories

are in a single serving.

Multimillions?

Lieutenant Vain, there is no need to go to all that trouble.

Why don't you enlighten me?

When I go shopping,

I just look at the nutrition facts label.

Just the nutrition facts label, ma'am?

It tells me everything I need to know about the percent

daily values of the food that I buy for my family.

Let me show you.

Each label actually starts out with serving size

and calories per serving size.

So peanut butter, serving size is 2 tablespoons,

that's 190 calories.

Hummus is 70 calories for 2 tablespoons.

Hummus, the Middle Eastern dip made from mashed cooked

chick peas, blended with lemon juice, tahini, garlic,

olive oil, and salt.

It became quite popular in the U.S., but what I didn't know is

that it was so low calorie.

But here's the tricky part.

While 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or hummus might be

satisfying, they aren't necessarily what I would eat

in a sitting.

And they certainly aren't what my growing son would eat.

He's on the swim team and his idea of a serving can be totally

different from what's on a label.

Luckily he swims a lot.

Ma'am, what about this bag?

May I?

Mm, while this bag might seem like one serving

to my son's untrained eye, there are actually

two and a half servings here.

That means instead of 140 calories,

it's actually 350 calories.

And that extra 200 calories a day can add up to 20 pounds

of weight gain over the course of a year.

What's interesting is that serving sizes are often given

in familiar measurements like cups or pieces.

Even so, a package may contain more than one serving.

For instance, milk is calculated based on an 8-ounce cup serving.

I guess that is just the way the calorie cookie crumbles.

[music]

Serving size, servings per container, calories per serving.

Starting to get the picture?

Well, how do you tell just what a single serving is when it's

something like cereal?

For instance, which of these bowls is the right size

for a single serving of cereal?

As described on most cereal boxes, you're thinking,

pfft, both of 'em.

I want a bowl of cereal and they're bowls, right?

But that's exactly the problem, they're bowls.

But the nutrition facts label is based on a cup of cereal.

Not how I eat cereal.

Now that's a bowl of cereal, but it takes about 2 cups

to fill this bowl.

That's two servings you're eating at once.

Add milk and you've got a lot of calories.

That's why it's so important to pay attention

to the nutrition facts label.

Sure, bowls come in all different sizes,

but mostly they hold more than a cup.

And an 8 ounce cup is the serving size listed

on most cereal food labels based on a typical

2,000 calorie-a-day diet.

So even if you eat a healthy, low fat, low sugar,

high fiber cereal, eating enough of it tips the scales,

literally.

Pour yourself a bowl of high protein granola with lots

of nuts and dried fruit.

That's more than you need if you're sitting at the computer

all day, but fine if you're planning a workout

like running or hiking.

It's all about balance.

And there's actually a nutritional rule to help you

achieve balance in your eating habits.

Ever heard of the 5-20 rule?

It sounds just about as complicated as a mathematical

equation, but let's see if anybody here on the street

can help us out.

Excuse me, sir.

What's the 5-20 rule?

I don't know what the 5-20 rule is actually.

I've never heard of it.

It sounds like a tax code thing.

The 5-20 rule.

Exactly.

Any ideas, Sam?

Yeah.

Maybe vitamins?

Five carbs, twenty grains?

There--wait, are there five or seven--?

Let's keep asking the 5-20 rule.

Is it local or federal?

Okay, could you tell me--can you tell me what

the 5-20 rule is?

I don't know.

The 5-20 rule? Mm-hmm.

Is it something about five fruits and vegetables every day?

Where is everyone?

I don't know.

Can you tell me what the 5-20 rule is?

What is it about?

It has something to do with nutrition.

Does anything come to mind?