Decoding Nutritional Labels

Today, more than ever, it's important to know what is in the foods we eat. Despite the snazzy packages showing pictures of wholesome looking foods, many products are too often sources of hidden fats, sugars and food additives. Fortunately, all packaged foods must include nutrition labels, but reading them can be confusing unless you know what you're looking for. Grab a can or carton and follow along while we take the mystery out of reading nutrition labels.

Starting at the top of a the label here's what we find:

Serving Size and Servings Per Container
Because all of the other information on the label is based on a single serving always look here first so you know the size of a single serving and how many servings the package contains. Because serving sizes are standardized you can compare labels and choose the product with the best nutrient profile per serving.

Calories
Most of us know where to find this information! It's usually where our eyes go first to find out how many calories we'd be ingesting if we ate the food inside. Make sure though to look at the serving size also though and multiply how many servings you eat by the amount of calories listed on the label.

Calories From Fat
Here we see the number of calories in one serving that come from fat. If it is a food such as oils, butter, etc., it may be the same number as the calories listed - meaning all of the calories come from fat.

Total Fat
This section shows the total fat, plus the amounts of saturated fats and trans fats - the bad guys. This number will be displayed in grams. You can convert it to calories by multiplying it by 9. There will also be a second number for total fat and saturated fats that says: % Daily Value. This shows us what percent of our daily calories is in one serving based on a 2000 calorie per day diet.
Most nutritionist will advise aiming for no more than 35% of our total calories from fat each day, with not more than 10% coming from saturated fat. Trans fats should be avoided altogether.

Cholesterol
If you are reading a nutritional label for a product containing animal ingredients then there will be a number for how much cholesterol it contains. Most people do well getting about 300 milligrams or less each day.

Sodium
This section tells us the amount of salt in a single serving. On average, it is best to aim for a daily total around 2300 mgs. per day, or less if advised by your doctor. You can keep track of your sodium intake by adding the mgs. of sodium in all the foods you eat. After awhile you will likely become proficient at knowing the basic sodium values in foods you commonly eat.

Carbohydrates
Nutritional labels will tell us the total carbohydrates in one serving. However, we can also get an idea about the quality of the carbohydrates a food contains by looking at the Dietary Fiber section and the Sugars section. Typically, if a food is high in sugar it will be considered a low quality carbohydrate whereas foods high in fiber are considered high quality carbs. Most nutritionist recommend getting 25 - 35 grams of total fiber each day.

Protein
This section tells us how much protein is in one serving. As a general rule, you can divide your weight in half and determine the grams of protein you should eat each day.

Vitamins & Minerals
Now we're going to look below the bold dividing line of the nutritional label and find the section that lists any significant vitamins and minerals that the food contains, along with the Recommended Daily Value for each. This information is helpful if we are looking to include more of any particular nutrients in our diets.

Ingredients
This list of ingredients will be located somewhere outside the nutrition facts box. It is often in very small print, so you may need to grab your glasses because it's important. Many people don't know this, but ingredients are listed by order of predominance according to weight. So the first things listed are what the product contains the most of. This can be quite telling, so make sure to read this list.

Other Notations
Often, below the list of ingredients there will be some special notations that tell us more about the product. This could be information like, "contains wheat," or "processed in a plant that processes tree nuts." Or it may tell us that the product has been fortified with added viatmins and minerals.

Contact Information
All food labels must include contact information so that consumers can contact the company that produced the product. It will list the company's name, address, phone number, and quite often a website. Don't hesitate to contact the company if you have any questions about a product you have purchased.

After becoming comfortable reading nutritional labels you will likely not be able to resist scanning the packages of food you select before adding them to your cart. Know what is in the foods we eat can go along way in insuring that we make healthy eating choices.