Dr. Nicholas “Nick” Rauber joined Aesthetic Dentistry Group in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2007. For the last two decades, Nick Rauber, DDS, has founded Swollfest, a registered not-for-profit that raised money for the American Diabetes Association through an annual fishing tournament.
Living with diabetes can impact an individual’s life, particularly when it comes to what can and cannot be eaten. Fortunately, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) provides a wealth of information on healthy dietary habits and helpful tips for grocery shopping. The ADA is particularly helpful when it comes to translating nutrient content claims on food packaging.
For some shoppers, the words such as “less,” “reduced” and “low” on a product may amount to nothing more than semantics, but for someone with diabetes, the nutrient content of every purchase is important. Products adhering to government regulations cannot claim their product to have less sodium, for example, unless there is 25 percent less sodium compared to a regular serving.
Calorie claims can be similarly confusing. A "calorie-free" product may contain as many as 4 calories per serving, while "low calorie" options might feature up to 40 calories. Sugar claims can be particularly important to diabetics. As is the case with sodium, a reduced-sugar product does not necessarily contain little to no sugar, but rather 25 percent less sugar than the “regular” version of the product. To learn more about fiber, cholesterol, and other content claims, please visit www.diabetes.org.
