Teacher’s Guide
Activity: Understanding Grain Products Labels Instruction: Use this activity sheet after viewing the “Grain Products: Nutrients” video from the “Learning about Canada’s Food Guide” video series. On the answer sheet you will find a Notes for Teachers section that will provide additional information about food labels. Material needed: ‐
Copies of Canada’s Food Guide. You can order copies of Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide online at www.hc‐sc.gc.ca. Please allow a few weeks for delivery. Grades: 7 to 9 Instruction: Use this activity sheet after viewing the video 1 of 2 – Vegetables and fruit of the series “Learning about the food guide” After viewing the video and completing this activity sheet, students should
Grades: 1 to 3 be able to achieve some of the following general curriculum outcomes and
Curriculum: Health Education links to outcomes: Cross Curriculum: ELA Curriculum: Health Education To view other videos from this series, please visit: Teachnutrition.ca  Canada’s Food Guide  Understanding food labels and nutrient content in order to make informed nutrition decisions Curriculum: English Language Arts  Speaking and Listening  Reading and Viewing  Writing and Representing Curriculum: Mathematics  Developing number sense with percentages To view other videos from this series, please visit:
Name:___________________________________
Understanding Grain Products Labels
You now know that Canada’s Food Guide encourages us to choose grain products prepared with little or no added fat, sugar or salt. Let’s keep these guidelines in mind as we compare the following two types of breakfast cereal. Product A Multi‐Grain Cereal Product B Crunchy Cereal Ingredients: whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, sugar and/or golden sugar, whole grain oat, hulled barley, whole brown rice flour, corn starch, golden syrup, corn bran, salt, calcium carbonate, trisodium phosphate, high monounsaturated canola oil and/or rice bran oil, monoglycerides, caramel and annatto colour, tocopherols, wheat starch, vitamins and minerals [niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), folate, iron] Ingredients: whole grain wheat, sugar and/or golden sugar, rice flour, high monounsaturated canola oil and/or rice bran oil, fructose, maltodextrin, dextrose, salt, calcium carbonate, cinnamon, trisodium phosphate, mono and diglycerides, soy lectithin, wheat starch, caramel colour, corn oil, BHT (preservative), sodium benzoate, vitamins and minerals [niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), folate, iron] 1. Sometimes there are clues (words) in the name of a product that can guide you towards healthier choices. Look at the name of Product A and Product B on the previous page and answer the following questions: a. What word leads you to believe that one of the products shown could be a healthier option? ____________________________________________________________________ b. Was that word found in Product A or B? __________________________________________ 2. Using the % Daily Value (% DV) when comparing two different food products can help you choose the healthier one. Use the % DV to choose products that are higher in the nutrients you want more of and lower in the nutrients you want less of. Fill out the table below with the information available in the Nutrition Facts tables on the previous page. If there is no % DV, use the amount value provided. Compare the information and answer the questions below. A. Multi‐Grain Cereal B. Crunchy Cereal Serving size Total fat Saturated Fat Sodium Carbohydrates from fibre Carbohydrates from sugars a. Are the serving sizes from each product the same? (Hint: look at both the number of cups and the number of grams) _____________________________________________________ b. Which item is lower in total fat? ________________________________________________ c. Which item is lower in saturated fat? ____________________________________________ d. Which item is lower in sodium? _________________________________________________ e. Which item contains more fibre? _______________________________________________ f. Which item is lower in sugars? __________________________________________________ 3. Clues to find healthier products can also be found in the ingredient list. Answer the questions below. a. Circle all of the whole grain ingredients in the ingredient lists for Product A and B in one color. Which product has more whole grain ingredients? _______________________________________ b. Circle all of the sugar ingredients in the ingredient lists for Product A and B in another color. Which product has more sugars in the ingredient list? (Hint: sugars can hide in ingredient lists under names like “fructose”, “syrup”, “maltodextrin” and “dextrose”. When you find words ending in “‐ose” in the ingredient list, chances are it is a form of sugar). ________________________________ 4. Based on your overall observations from questions 1, 2 and 3 which breakfast cereal would you choose? a. Product A – Multi‐Grain Cereal b. Product B – Crunchy Cereal 5. Why would you choose that cereal? ________________________________________________________________________________ Answer Sheet
Product A : Multi‐Grain Cereal Product B: Crunchy Cereal Ingredients: whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, sugar and/or golden sugar, whole grain oat, hulled barley, whole brown rice flour, corn starch, golden syrup, corn bran, salt, calcium carbonate, trisodium phosphate, high monounsaturated canola oil and/or rice bran oil, monoglycerides, caramel and annatto colour, tocopherols, wheat starch, vitamins and minerals [niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), folate, iron] Ingredients: whole grain wheat, sugar and/or golden sugar, rice flour, high monounsaturated canola oil and/or rice bran oil, fructose, maltodextrin, dextrose, salt, calcium carbonate, cinnamon, trisodium phosphate, mono and diglycerides, soy lectithin, wheat starch, caramel colour, corn oil, BHT (preservative), sodium benzoate, vitamins and minerals [niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), folate, iron] Notes for Teachers Carbohydrates are a very important nutrient because they provide the body with energy. All of the various tissues in the body, especially the brain, prefer carbohydrates as their source of energy. There are 3 main types of carbohydrates; 1.
2.
3.
Starches ‐ These are found in grain products, beans, lentils and starchy vegetables. They require the body to break them down into smaller sugars. They are a healthy source of energy. Fibre ‐ This carbohydrate is found solely in plants. It is the only carbohydrate that is indigestible. Although we are unable to digest fibre, it helps to maintain a healthy digestive system. That is why fibre is a nutrient we want to have more of. Sugars ‐ These are another form of carbohydrate that is already broken down into smaller sugars. Simple sugars can be naturally occurring such as in milk (lactose) and fruit (fructose), and this is the type we should favour. Some simple sugar are processed and refined from plants (sugar cane) and then are added to food products. These are the types of simple sugars that we want to limit. On the nutrition fact table you can find the amount of total carbohydrate, which includes starches, fibre and sugar. Under it you will only find the amount for fibre and sugars. So if you want to know the amounts of starches in a product, you have to subtract the g of fibre and the g of sugars from the g carbohydrates amount. 1. Sometimes there are clues (words) in the name of a product that can guide you towards healthier choices. Look at the name of Product A and Product B on the previous page and answer the following questions: a. What word leads you to believe that one of the products shown could be a healthier option? Multi‐Grain b. Was that word found in Product A or B? Product A – Multi‐Grain Cereal 2. Using the % Daily Value (% DV) when comparing two different food products can help you choose the healthier one. Use the % DV to choose products that are higher in the nutrients you want more of and lower in the nutrients you want less of. Fill out the table below with the information available in the Nutrition Facts tables on the previous page. If there is no %DV, use the amount value provided. Compare the information and answer the questions below. A. Multi‐Grain Cereal B. Crunchy Cereal Serving size ( 1cup) 30g (¾ cup) 31g Total fat 2% 5% Saturated Fat 0% 2% Sodium 7% 9% Carbohydrates from fibre 3g 1g Carbohydrates from sugars 6g 10g a. Are the serving sizes from each product the same? (Hint: look at both the number of cups and the number of grams) Yes. Although Product A’s serving size 1 cup and Product B’s serving size is ¾ cup, the amount of grams in both products is essentially the same. b. Which item is lower in total fat? Product A. Multi‐Grain Cereal c. Which item is lower in saturated fat? A. Multi‐Grain Cereal d. Which item is lower in sodium? A. Multi‐Grain Cereal e. Which item contains more fibre? A. Multi‐Grain Cereal f. Which item is lower in sugars? A. Multi‐Grain Cereal 3. Clues to find healthier products can also be found in the ingredient list. Answer the questions below. a. Circle all of the whole grain ingredients in the ingredient lists for Product A and B in one color (yellow). Which product has more whole grain ingredients? A. Multi‐Grain Cereal b. Circle all of the sugar ingredients in the ingredient lists for Product A and B in another color (red). Which product has more sugars in the ingredient list? (Hint: sugars can hide in ingredient lists under names like “fructose”, “syrup”, “maltodextrin” and “dextrose”. When you find words ending in “‐ose” in the ingredient list, chances are it is a form of sugar). B. Crunchy Cereral 4. Based on your overall observations question 1, 2 and 3 which breakfast cereal would you choose? a. Product A – Multi‐Grain Cereal b. Product B – Crunchy Cereal 5. Why would you choose that cereal? I should choose the Multi‐Grain Cereal (Product A) because it has less added fat, sugar, sodium and it has more fiber.