Teacher’s Guide
Activity: Understanding Vegetables and Fruit Labels Instruction: Use this activity sheet after viewing the “Vegetables and Fruit: 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.Pleaseallowafewweeksfordelivery. Grades: 7 to 9 Instruction:Usethisactivitysheetafterviewingthevideo1of2–
Vegetablesandfruitoftheseries“Learningaboutthefoodguide”
After viewing the video and completing this activity sheet, students should
Grades:1to3
be able to achieve some of the following general curriculum outcomes and
Curriculum:HealthEducation links to outcomes: CrossCurriculum:ELA
Curriculum: Health Education Toviewothervideosfromthisseries,pleasevisit:Teachnutrition.ca
 Canada’s Food Guide  Understanding food labels and nutrient content in order to make informed nutrition choices 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 Vegetables and Fruit Labels
You now know that Canada’s Food Guide encourages us to choose vegetables and fruit prepared with little or no added fat, sugar or salt. Let’s keep these some of those guidelines in mind as we compare the following two types of applesauce. Product A Product B Unsweetened Applesauce Sweetened Applesauce Ingredients: apples, water, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) Ingredients: apples, glucose‐fructose, water, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) 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 words 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. Unsweetened Applesauce B. Sweetened Applesauce Serving size Total Carbohydrate Carbohydrates from sugar a. Are the serving sizes from each product the same? _________________________________ b. Which item contains less total carbohydrate? _____________________________________ c. Which item contains less carbohydrates from sugars? _______________________________ 3. Clues to find healthier products can also be found in the ingredient list. Answer the question below. a. Which ingredient is only present in one product and not the other? ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Based on your overall observations from questions 1, 2 and 3, which product would you choose? Circle the right answer. a. Product A ‐ Unsweetened Applesauce b. Product B ‐ Sweetened Applesauce 5. Why would you choose that product? _________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________ Answer Sheet
Product A Product B Unsweetened Applesauce Sweetened Applesauce Ingredients: apples, water, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) Ingredients: apples, glucose‐fructose, water, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) 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 ‐ They 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 ‐ They 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 words leads you to believe that one of the products shown could be a healthier option? Unsweetened b. Was that word found in Product A or B? Product A 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. Unsweetened Applesauce B. Sweetened Applesauce 125 mL 125 mL Total Carbohydrate 5% 10% Carbohydrates from sugar 13g 27g Serving size a. Are the serving sizes from each product the same? Yes b. Which item contains less total carbohydrate? Product A – Unsweetened applesauce c. Which item contains less carbohydrates from sugars? Product A – Unsweetened applesauce 3. Clues to find healthier products can also be found in the ingredient list. Answer the question below. a. Which ingredient is only present in one product and not the other? Glucose‐Fructose 4. Based on your overall observations from questions 1, 2 and 3, which product would you choose? Circle the right answer. a. Product A ‐ Unsweetened Applesauce b. Product B ‐ Sweetened Applesauce 5. Why would you choose that product? I should choose the unsweetened apple sauce (Product A) because it does not have any added sugars.