Calories in Ready Pac Salad bistro, italiano

WeightWatchers Points are estimated by carbohydrates, fats, protein and fiber in product. They are not an affirmation of better quality or nutritional value of the product or its manufacturer. Only way to count for dieters. Less points are better.
Read more at Weight watchers diet review

Bad! More 25% of daily saturated fat!

For years Saturated fat was claimed to raise cholesterol levels and give us heart attacks. Today different studies refute this claim. They say, that replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates or refined starch or sugar is not changing the heart disease risk. Not processed carbs nor saturated fats are good for you. Only if you replace it with polyunsaturated fat, you'll get a reduction in heart disease risk. So try to have a balanced diet.

The average American consumes 5,000 mg of sodium daily — twice the recommended amount amount of 2400mg for healthy adults, this is 1 teaspoon of salt.
For medical reasons many people should not exceed 1500mg of sodium.
Surprisingly, you're responsible for only 15% of the sodium in your diet the bigger part - 75% of the sodium that you consume each day comes from processed foods, not home cooking or the salt shaker.
Excess sodium intake increases the risk of high blood pressure, hypernatremia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and other heart problems.
Are these reasons enough to cut the sodium intake? No doubt!

Salt (NaCl) is not excactly sodium (Na).
It is not right to use these terms as synonyms.
The FDA recommended limit of sodium is 2,300 mg per day (or even less - about 1500 mg while one is on low sodium diets).
This is much less than the weight of salt.
(5,750 mg per day or 3,750 mg for low sodium diet) and not so convenient to calculate.
Know how much sodium is in your salt - without a calculator:
1/4 tsp salt = 600 mg sodium
1/2 tsp salt = 1200 mg sodium
3/4 tsp salt = 1800 mg sodium
1 tsp salt = 2300 mg sodium

This volume includes both naturally occurring from ingredients and specially added sugars.
USDA tells us that last years each American consumed an average 130 pounds of caloric sweeteners per year!
That works out to 30 tsp of sugars per day approximately 480 extra calories!
Just to think: Eating just 200 more calories daily than your body requires for body functioning and exercise leads to a 20-pound weight gain in a year.

Eat more fiber. You've heard it many times. But why it is so good for your health?
Dietary fiber is best known for its ability to make our digestion going right.
So want to prevent or relieve constipation - eat more fiber!
There are also other great health benefits as well, such as lowering your risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and helping to maintain a healthy weight by helping to feel you full longer.
The best source of fiber are fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes and not processed foods with added fiber.

For many vegans and vegetarians, it's important to get enough protein.
The product you've just scanned will provide you with 12% or more of your daily protein requirement.
If you're a vegan having trouble meeting your protein needs, try nuts and beans.
Sprinkling nuts onto any dish is a quick, easy and nutritious solution.
Try adding beans in places you might not normally eat them.
Add beans to pasta dishes, stir fries and even salads.
While meat alternatives like Tofu do provide a quick and easy protein intake, they should not be your only source of protein.
Eat proteins from a variety of sources for best results.

It is used as a thickener in products such as ice cream, jelly, chocolate milk, infant formula, cottage cheese.
It is a vegetarian and vegan alternative to gelatin.
It has been used for hundreds of years in Ireland and China, but only made headway into modern food processing in the last 50 years.
The processing steps after harvesting the seaweed include drying, grounding, filtration, treatment with potassium hydroxide, removal of cellulose by centrifuge, concentration by evaporation, drying, and grounding.
Interestingly, the Philippines account for the vast majority of the world supply of carrageenan.
In some animal studies, carrageenan was shown to cause intestinal lacerations and tumors.
A 2001 meta-study of 45 peer-reviewed studies concluded that carrageenan consumption may result in gastrointestinal malignancy and inflammatory bowel.
The FDA has approved carrageenan as safe, basing its decision on industry funded studies.
European agencies and the World Health Organization have also deemed carrageenan safe, with the exception of infant formula.
The fear is the a baby's gut may be unable to handle the large carrageenan molecules.
In some individuals carrageenan may cause intestinal discomfort or worse.

Sulfites (sulphites) are inorganic salts that are used as antioxidant of food preservative or enhancer.
They may appear on food labels in various forms, such as: sulfur dioxide, potassium bisulfite, potassium metabisulfite, sodium bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite or sodium sulfite
Although sulphites do not cause a true allergic reaction, people with sensitivity to sulfites may experience similar reactions as those with food allergies.
Those who have asthma are most at risk to sulphite sensitivity.
BTW sulfites are included in the ten priority food allergens in Canada.

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a chemical added to certain foods and beverages to keep their color and flavor.
EDTA is known as a persistent organic pollutant. It resists degradation from biological, chemical, and photolytic processes.
It may irritate the skin or cause skin rash and even asthma.
It is is generally recognized as safe by FDA, but is on it's list of food additives to be studied for toxicity.

BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) is primarily used as an antioxidant food additive, mainly to prevent oils and fats in foods from oxidizing and becoming rancid.
It is GRAS in the US, but forbidden as food additive in Japan (since 1958), Romania, Sweden, and Australia.
Some studies have shown that it is carcinogenic.
Avoid it, there are foods available without this danger.