READ THE LABEL, PART 2

Ned would like to emphasize in this post the importance of reading food labels and avoiding packaged foods loaded with salt, refined grains and sugar, or high-fructose corn syrup. But reading labels may not always be as easy as it seems. As the late, beloved Rosann Rosannadanna once said, "It's always something!" And it is with labels, too.
Take salsa. Ned's many followers may think that reading salsa labels is cut-and-dried. Not so. This is even more lamentable since potentially salsa is one of the more nutritious processed foods one can eat. Here's the rub.
You need to carefully understand the portion size.
Most salsas list nutritional content for a ridiculously small serving size. This has two effects: it masks the salt and sugar content and it makes the real nutrition, like Vitamin C, seem miniscule. Take for example a salsa Ned had tonight. Lowish salt at 70 mg per serving, but the serving size was 33 grams, or only a couple of tablespoons.
Who eats two tablespoons of salsa? The same person who eats one chip Ned supposes.
But consider that the salsa Ned ate contained 3 grams of sugar per serving. Since the serving size was 33 grams, the stuff is 9% sugar by weight. Too much.
On the other hand, the serving size of many vegetable juices is either 4 or 8 ounces, and the calories per serving is around 25. Fantastic ratio, especially given the high nutritional value of vegetable juices.
So remember everyone to read the labels but BE CAREFUL OF THE PORTION SIZE.
Bon appetit.