Reading Nutrition Facts Labels

Nutrition labels are your key to making healthier food choices. But what do all those numbers and percentages mean? Sometimes a higher percentage is good, and other times the lower the number, the better. Learning how to properly read food nutrition labels will give you the knowledge and the power to eat healthier and make better choices for you and your family.

Up Close and Personal With Food Nutrition Labeling

Fortunately, the USDA created a standardized format for nutrition labels, and all food sold in the U.S. is required to carry this label. This makes it easier for consumers to learn to read the labels and trust that the important food information will be available. However, the labels can still be quite confusing for many people.

The Nutrition Label Breakdown

The nutrition label has six basic sections:

1. The serving size and servings in the container
2. The calorie count and fat from calories count
3. Nutrients that should be limited
4. Required macronutrients
5. Percentage of Recommended Daily Allowances of vitamins and nutrients
6. The footnote

The Serving Size

You have to know the serving size to apply the rest of the information. This is especially important if you are trying to lose weight and are counting calories, fat grams or carbohydrates. For example, if the serving size is one cup, then you can use a measuring cup to measure out exactly one cup and know that you are getting the calories, fat and carbs listed in the next sections. Only eating one-half cup? Cut the information in half. Eating two cups? Double the information.

Calorie Count

This section tells you exactly how many calories are in the listed serving size of the food. The calories from fat count tells how many of those calories are derived from fat grams. In general, calories from fat should be a low percentage of total calories.

Nutrients to Limit

The next section contains total fat, broken down into saturated fat, unsaturated fat and trans fats; cholesterol and sodium. The lower, the better on all of these nutrients. While these are still required nutrients, Americans as a whole consume far too many of them. When looking at fat grams, try to avoid foods with high levels of saturated fats and try to avoid trans fats completely.

Macronutrients

Carbohydrates and protein are required nutrients for a healthy diet. Pay attention to your numbers, because you have a certain amount of these you need to eat every day. This amount is your recommended daily allowance (RDA). The percentages tell you what percent of your RDA is contained in a serving of the food. Especially pay attention to the dietary fiber count. You should be aiming for about 20 to 30 grams per day for your digestive system to work properly.

Vitamins and Minerals

Your body requires a number of vitamins and minerals to work properly and maintain your immune system. These are listed as percentages of your RDA.

The Footnote

You can think of this as your map legend for the nutritional facts label. It breaks down the macronutrients and identifies how much of each you should be aiming for each day. Keep in mind that these numbers are listed for a 2,000 calorie per day diet. If you are trying to lose weight, you may be eating fewer calories per day. In this case, you will need to adjust your numbers accordingly.

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