What did I just put in my body?

This morning I had me a PB & J sandwich on wheat bread. After I had my sandwich, I made a thorough but short read on the Nutrition Facts and Ingredients of the jelly. Which led to the question....What did I just put in my body?????

The brand is called "Family Pantry - Grape Jelly"

The Nutrition Facts are

Serving Size: 1 TBSP Calories per serving: 50
Calories from Fat: 0 Servings Per Container: 45


Total Fat: 0g --------- Saturated Fat 0g ------ Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg ------ Sodium: 10mg
Total Carbs: 13g ------ Dietary Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 13g ----------- Protein: 0g

I can't see any nutritional value on what this grape jelly can do for me based on it's "Nutrition" Facts more so from reading it's ingredients:

Grape Juice, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid and Sodium Citrate.

I googled how to read nutrition labels and came across this information on the U.S. Food and Adminstration Site*

Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight (from most to least).

Which means there is more of grape juice than high fructose corn syrup...more high fructose corn syrup then corn syrup.....more corn syrup then fruit pectin and so on...right?

Additionally....

If you are concerned about your intake of sugars, make sure that added sugars are not listed as one of the first few ingredients. Other names for added sugars include: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey, and maple syrup.

Ok....I'm totally turned off by this Jelly since it's first few ingredients did consist of high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup*....my mother is not so open with me preaching to her healthier alternatives when it comes to the expense of feeding a household of 6 but I plan to make an effort especially after reading this. But then again I might not have to result to that since I caught a glimpse of a large jar of Smucker's perserves in our other fridge. Will into the ingredients later. :)

Learning about this lead to the question of what's the difference between jelly and jams? And which one is healthier?

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I believe I have found a credible answer from the Welch's site.

What’s the difference between jelly, jam, preserves and spreads?*

These products are a blend of:

* Fruit pectin: to provide the gelling mechanism that forms the texture of the product**

* Sweeteners: (such as sugar and corn syrup) for added flavor and proper conditions for gel formation.

* Citric acid: to enhance product flavor and provide the correct level of acidity for gel formation to occur.**

* Fruit:


o Jelly is made from fruit juice

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o Jam is made from pureed fruit
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o Preserves are made from whole fruit


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o Spreads are made from whole fruit and/or pureed fruit

This information has helped me decide that I am better off consuming jams, preserves, and spreads rather then jelly. I miss spreading the actual strawberry on my toast, it must of been preserves. Can't wait to open the Smucker's. :) I hope this was helpful to you as well. Take Care.


FYI
*How to Understand
and Use the Nutrition Facts Label

*I wonder what is the difference between corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup...will plan to post that another day.

*What's The Difference Between Jelly, Jam, Preserves and Spreads?

**I'm glad Welch's answered my question on what Fruit Pectin and Citric Acid was...

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