Reading Nutrition Labels

If you want to purchase healthy food products, it is important to know how to properly read and understand the information presented to you on nutrition labels. This can be quite a challenging and confusing task if you don't know what to look for. Sometimes people just skip it completely. I want to provide you with several tips that I've gathered over the years and also share some links to helpful sites with more information that you might find useful the next time you go grocery shopping.

1. Be sure to look closely at the serving size, number of servings, and calories.

- If you don't do anything else, do this! Sometimes people look at ONLY calories, and assume that's how much is in the whole package/product. This not not true! Calories, and all other information on nutrition labels, is based on one serving. Many packages contain MORE than one serving. Make sure to look at the serving size and be aware of much you will actually be consuming. This information is usually located at the top of nutrition labels.  

Photo Courtesy Of: http://blog.fooducate.com/

2.  Pay attention to the Daily Value percentages. 

- This is based off of a 2,000 calorie diet, so it may not be exact for you.

- Foods are considered to be high in a nutrient if they are 20% of the Daily Value or more. They are considered low in a nutrient if they are 5% or less.

3. Look for products that are low in: saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium and added sugars.

- Sodium and unhealthy fats are bad for your heart. Sugar only adds calories, and no other nutrients.

4. Look for products that are high in: potassium, fiber, vitamins (A and C), calcium and iron.

5. Look for sources of lean protein.

- Get the most protein for your calories and fat by comparing how much protein you get from one serving with the total amount of calories and fat. Generally, look for low-fat or fat-free products.

6. Be sure to check out the list of ingredients.

- If you're looking for a whole-grain food, it should appear first on the list.
- The article, "9 ingredients to avoid in processed foods", provides a list of 9 ingredients you should always try to stay way from. It also gives information on why they're used and why they're bad.
- The article "Harmful Food Ingredients to Avoid at all Costs", provides some similar information, but includes an extended list of ingredients to avoid as well as more tips on reading nutrition labels.

Photo Courtesy Of:
 http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/NFLPM/ucm274593.htm

This list of tips does not include every bit of information that is provided to you on nutrition labels, but it has some of the main things to look for and what I use at most frequently to help me make decisions when grocery shopping. I learned a lot of this information during my Lifetime Wellness course last year, and some of it I've picked up doing research in my free time. 

If you're interested in learning more in-depth information, check out these articles for further reading:
"Reading Food Nutrition Labels" from the American Heart Association
"How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label" from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration