Dietitians of Canada (DC) is an association responsible for providing Canadians with the most credible and trustworthy source of nutritional information. Dietitians of Canada is involved in all facets of nutrition and foods throughout Canada. This includes the annual campaign that takes place every March. That campaign is called… March is Nutrition Month.
Healthy eating is not always easy, but that is where Dietitians come in! Dieticians help develop and shape many of our healthy eating strategies, such as Canada’s Food Guide and our nutrition labels.
Speaking of labels, how comfortable do you feel reading and using food labels? My guess, is that most could benefit from learning a bit more on the subject. Here are a few quick facts about labels:
- There are 3 parts to a food label; the nutritional facts table, the ingredient list, and the optional health claim.
- Labels can be used to help individuals consume specific nutrients, avoid certain ingredients, and/or make better choices to suit their specific needs.
- %DV means the percent daily value, which can help identify if there is a lot of or not a lot of a specific nutrient in that amount of food.
- Coming soon: Front of Package Labelling! This will identify the amount of certain nutrients on the front of the packaging.
For more information regarding nutrition and/or labels, here are a few resources:
- Health Canada’s online Nutrition Label Course
- March is Nutrition Month
- Canada’s Food Guide
- The Essential Nutrition Course
Alert! Alert! Launching New Course Alert! Alert!
The Essential Nutrition Course
Your local Health Promotion Team is also about to launch a new course on nutrition called The Essential Nutrition Course. This new course explains the science of nutrition and covers topics such as food budgeting, tips for easy meal planning, healthy recipes, label reading and much more. Why not learn to get the most out of the food you eat in order to improve your mental and physical performance!
The course consists of 5 modules and is scheduled to launch on 2 May. The course will run on Thursday mornings from 0830-1030 for 5 weeks. For more information and/or to register, visit your local Health Promotion Team’s website or contact us at local 270-7086.
Article written by: Nathaniel Smith, Health Promotion Specialist at CFB Borden.
