Today, there are more than 300,000 food products in the market place including low-fat, low-carb, gluten-free, cholesterol-free, enhanced and enriched foods, and artificial substitutes for just about everything. We have carrot cake that doesn’t contain carrots, fat-free products that contain heart damaging fats, and “energy” is now available in a can. So, how do you know what’s really good for you?

With clever marketing, food labeling loopholes, and the “latest” health study influencing our buying behaviors, understanding food is the first step to taking charge ofyour health and simple changes to food choices can make a big difference.

Once you truly understand food you can make better choices for your overall well-being, and with the plethora of information out there, sometimes that means we need to read between the lines.

• There are only two types of food
• There’s more to that label than you think
• Quality counts

There are really only two kinds of food—plant and animal foods. Grasp this simple concept, and making good food choices becomes easier.

Plant foods are fruits, vegetables, grains, dry beansand peas, nuts and seeds. Essentially, any type of food that comes from a plant. When you think about “plant” foods, think carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates include sugar, fiber and starch, and most carbohydrates come from plant-based foods. Dairy products (milk, cheese etc.) are the only animal foods containing a significant amount of carbohydrates. This isdue to the natural sugar or “lactose” found in dairy.

Plant foods do not contain cholesterol and only plant foods contain fiber, a vital nutrient for good health.

When you reference a Nutrition Facts label (foundon most packaged foods) for plant-based foods (fruits,vegetables, grains, dry beans and peas, nuts and seeds),you’ll see a food pattern emerge:

• Plant foods have zero cholesterol
• Plant foods contain carbohydrates
• Only plant foods contain fiber

You may even find these foods labeled as “CholesterolFree” and of course they are, they’re plant foods.

All animal-derived foods—such as meat, fish, poultry,dairy, and eggs—contain fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.The amount varies depending on the product. When youreference a Nutrition Facts label for animal-based foods,the food pattern is as follows:

• Animal-derived foods contain fat, saturated fat andcholesterol
• Most animal-derived foods do not contain carbohydrates

Occasionally, carbohydrate content will show up on (animal-based) Nutrition Facts labels. In most cases, thisis due to sugar or flour (plant-based foods) being added to a product. Notice the Tilapia examples: one is a fresh filet, the other is frozen and breaded. Both have fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, but only the breaded product contains carbohydrates.

Nutrition Fact labeling for fresh meat, poultry and fishis optional. Get the facts prior to shopping. Search online or in my latest book, Are the Blueberries in Your WafflesReally Blueberries?, a reference guide to eating smart. You may be surprised just how much fat you can eliminateby simply choosing a different cut or grade of meat.