Reading a Nutrition Label
Nutrition labels were required to be included on food packages by the Federal and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1994.
Nutrition labels are most often located on the back or side of a
food item. Not all food labels are the same as they do vary from
product to product
Everyone uses the labels differently as some people use them for weight management (calories, fat, carbohydrates, portion control) and some will use them to watch their sodium or cholesterol intake to help with lowering blood pressure or choleterol.
However they are used, they can be quite misleading so I will provide you some simple tips for reading a food's nutrition label properly.
4 Segement to a Nutrition Label
There are usually 4 main segments to a nutrition label including:
Serving Size Information
Nutrition facts/and serving information is the very first section shown on all labels. This is probably the most important section because the remaining data all depends on the serving size and number of servings per package. Let's look at a can of soup to help illustrate.
The can's label states that 1 serving = 1/2 cup =60 calories. If we ate the entire can of soup (2 servings), we would need to double our calories as we consumed two servings for a total of 120 calories. The same goes for a bag of baked chips with 10 servings. If a serving size is 14 chips =110 calories and we eat an entire bag of chips we would have consumed 1,110 calories, not 110. So you can see where serving size is so important to understand when reading a nutrition label. Most will just look at calories but not at serving and assume that an entire bag of chips is 110 calories. We can easily consume a ton of extra calories without even knowing it.
Soda and fruit/vegetable juices are two of the most commonly misconceived products out there because if you look at a bottle of Mountain Dew, the label states it contains 80 calories per serving. However, there are 2.5 servings in that can which adds up to over 200 calories and tons of sugar if we consume the entire can. Kids today are drinking way too much pop and consuming too many calories, which is causing a epidemic of obesity in children.
Calories/Proteins/Fats
Is the second section found directly below serving size information. This indicates the calories, fat, and protein usually in grams (g) or milligrams (mg). Pay close attention to serving size again as I pointed out above. Take the number given times the total servings consumed and that will give you total calories, protein, and fat.
Starting in this section of the food label, you will start to notice %DV (Daily Values) also being provided. This information is indicating the % of total fat that a particular product gives you per serving of total intake recommended. If a can of soup has 4g of fat per serving and 10% DV that means you need 90% more fat in your diet to meet the recommended dietary needs. DV's are calculated based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet and should be adjusted according to your caloric needs.
Vitamins and Minerals
The FDA requires that this information be highlighted on all food packages and includes calcium, vitamin A, D, and C, etc. Some will include niacin and folic acid on the label as well. A %DV will also be included in this section of the food label.
Suggested Daily Requirements
The last section included on a food label is not always provided. as part of the nutrition label is the suggested daily requirements based on a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie per day diet. If you are consuming more or less calories per day then adjust your dietary intake and percentages accordingly. Again, not all food packages will include this as a component on their label but it can be very helpful information.
Great Tip: How do you determine quickly if a product is a good or bad choice? I learned this from a dietitian that I used to work with and it has really helped me out. Using the %DV, 20% is considered to be HIGH and 5% is LOW.
Example: If you are watching your sodium intake and you turn a box of crackers over and it states that the %DV is 15% that would be a BAD choice because 20% is high/bad. On the other hand, if you are wanting to increase FIBER in your diet and you see that the product has a %DV of 17%, this would be good because fiber is a good ingredient.
Another example would be a product that has a %DV of 12% of fat, that would be one of the best options for you if you were watching fat, which most of us should be doing already.
Reading a nutrition label isn't difficult to do but it is important to know how to correctly use one. If you have questions about how to interpret this information, please contact me using the form below.
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