Grocery Store Tour

Macronutrient Overview

  • Carbohydrates (CHO) 4 Cal per 1 gram

    • Used to maintain blood glucose levels which supports the creation of ATP (adenosine triphosphate)
    • Preferred energy source as opposed to protein catabolism
    • Daily targets: 45 to 65% of our daily caloric expenditures
    • Sources: Vegetables, fruits, whole grains
    • Good carb source has a sugar-to-fiber ratio <= 2.0

  • Proteins (PRO) 4 Cal per 1 gram

    • Muscle repair and protein catabolism and anabolism
    • Daily targets:  10 to 35% of our daily caloric expenditures
    • Sources: Lean meats, dairy products, fish, eggs
    • Lean protein source has protein-to-fat ratio <=2.0

  • Fats (FAT) 9 Cal per 1 gram

    • Provides energy and supports many bodily functions.
    • Daily targets:  20 to 35% of our daily caloric expenditures
    • Sources: Oils, butter
Balanced Macronutrients

Department Hints

Department: Overview
Produce Look for a wide variety of color. Fresh, frozen canned (low sodium) and dried can be equally good for you.
Breads Understand the sugar to fiber ratio of the bread. Lower the better.
Meats There is no perfect meat. Make sure fat is half as much as protein. Target 93% or higher for lean ground meat.
Juice Avoid at all cost, however if you must dilute with water.
Yogurt Buy nonfat Greek yogurt and add your own sugar and fruits.

Reading a Food's Nutritional Label

Reading a Food Label
Example of a food label found on a box of cereal.

Step 1 - What is the macronutrient your food choice is attempting to accomplish?

For example, the food label to the left demonstrates that this food choice is a carb source as it is the leading macronutrient value on the label.

STEP 2 - Evaluate the macronutrient you are attempting to get from this food choice.

If your food choice is a protein source, make sure the fat content is half the amount of protein.

If your food choice is a carb source, make sure the sugar content is relatively close to the fiber content.

Based on this food label being a carb source, we immediately look at the fiber number and see how close the sugar is to it. Not bad!

STEP 3 - Determine how the macronutrient distribution stacks up with your target distribution. Here is a quick way to calculate this. (See the food label) Start with the carb number (16g). Divide the carb number by 2 to get your protein target (16/2=8). Evaluate the protein number (7g) against the target number (8g). Then take the protein target and divide by 2 to get the fat target (8/2=4). Evaluate the fat number (6g) against the target number (4g) . Not terrible. Based on this, we would suspect this snack to be a relatively good choice, especially when we consider the sugar-to-fiber ratio.

Helpful Values and Hints

4 grams of sugar = 1 tsp of sugar
1 gram of carb is 4 calories
1 gram of protein is 4 calories
1 gram of fat is 9 calories
2300 mg of salt = 1 tsp of salt

Fats should be half the protein amount
Proteins should be half the carb amount
Fiber should be half the protein amount
Avoid all artificial sweeteners