People must consume a certain amount of different nutrients throughout the day. To make this process easier, there is a 5/20 rule. According to it, the substance’s high content starts from 20%, while the low is 5% and below. As an example, I chose halwa with pistachios: according to the label, the product contains 4% calcium. This suggests that its content is low, and this nutrient should be consumed from other sources.
Anemia is a relatively common chronic disease that requires dietary changes. Patients with anemia need to eat foods high in iron (Kohlstadt, 2016). Therefore, by following the 5/20 rule, they will be able to choose the right foods. Another nutrient-related illness is hypertension. To prevent and stop the disease’s development, it is necessary to reduce the amount of salt consumed, which can also be helped by the 5/20 rule (Kohlstadt, 2016). To make it easier for consumers to navigate the labels, it is necessary to change their structure. For example, people will understand better if they can see the words “high content” or “low content” instead of numbers.
I selected three foods from my pantry to study nutrients on their labels. The first product is organic whole cashews, unsalted, unroasted: total calories per serving: 150, percentage of calories from fat: 18%, total amount of carbohydrates: 8 g, total amount of proteins: 5 g, total amount of fiber: 1 g. This product is quite useful because it contains a lot of vegetable fats but few carbohydrates. The second product is Cheerios: total calories per serving: 150, percentage of calories from fat: 3%, total amount of carbohydrates: 29 g, total amount of proteins: 5 g, total amount of fiber: 4 g. This product should be eaten with caution as it contains many fast carbohydrates that can raise insulin levels. The third product is halwa with pistachio: total calories per serving: 340, percentage of calories from fat: 27%, total amount of carbohydrates: 29 g, total amount of proteins: 9 g, total amount of fiber: 2 g. This product is significantly higher in calories, but it is also filled with healthy fats. Despite this, it also contains fast carbohydrates, which requires careful use.
Reference
Kohlstadt, I. (2016). Food and nutrients in disease management. CRC Press.