Saturday, April 18, 2009

[did you know?] canned fish and similar products

some canned fish (tuna, sardines, milkfish/bangus) that i just recently bought now has "Nutrition Facts" on their labels.

GREAT.

if you read closely, their Nutrition Facts say that one serving of their product contains sodium that is 25% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). one would think that going above 100% is not good for health, so if you're only consuming 25%, you are still 3 cans away from unhealthy.

WRONG.

that small, PhP11.00 can of sardines - their nutrition facts say it contains around 3 servings. so you're actually consuming an amount of sodium that is around 75% of the RDA! if you're a big person like myself, one can is just half a serving! so for a full meal i would be consuming sodium that is around 50% more than the RDA!

moral of the story:

  • avoid eating canned or packed food products. they usually use sodium (as part of MSG, sodium nitrate, or salt (sodium chloride)) to preserve the food product. this includes canned tuna, canned vegetables, corned beef, vienna sausages, etc.
  • don't buy canned or packed food products!
  • buy fresh, eat fresh! you're also helping the environment (and you don't even know it).
  • know the facts! ingredients, nutrition facts, etc.
  • read the product labels!
  • don't buy food without the appropriate product labels!
  • know your limits! (some people should definitely have much less sodium intake per day)

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