How to Read Food Nutrition Labels

The next to last key message being promoted for National Nutrition Month® 2008 is:

Read food labels to get nutrition facts that help you make smart food choices quickly and easily.

It is important to know how to read a food label in order to know what foods on the market are the healthiest options for you*. Below you will find some basic information on how to read a label.

Food Label Basics

Food labels are required on all foods in the U.S.–that’s simple enough! But how do you read them to get the most out of the information?

There are several key points to the food label:

1. Take not of the serving size. If one serving is 1 cup of skim milk, then you know that if you drink 1 cup of milk, the rest of the information on the label applies to you. If you drink 2 servings (or 2 cups of milk) then you need to multiply all of the numbers on the label by 2. Many people forget about the serving size and don’t realize they’ve eaten far more than just one serving.
2. Then, look at the number of servings per container. This is where some people may get confused–the number of servings may not be equal to the entire container (for instance, soup is usually 2 servings per can–not one serving!).
3. Look at the number of calories per serving–if you drink 2 cups of skim milk, then you are consuming 180 calories.

All-in-all, if you are concerned about calories, and nothing else, this is as far as you need to read. Take a look at the calories per serving, and pick the food item that has the least amount of calories per serving. And watch those servings that you eat!

Advanced Food Label Analysis

Now, say you want to keep your calorie intake under control but also want to know which is the healthiest of the foods around the same calorie level. So, let’s look a little deeper into the food label.

When you look at a food label, follow the “more is better” for these nutrients:

• Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat (within the total fat guidelines)–foods with higher amounts of these fats compared to saturated and trans fat are better. Although your total fat guidelines are to stay below 65 to 80 grams (based on a 2000 calorie diet and 2500 calorie diet, respectively), you want more unsaturated fat than saturated fat in your diet.
• Fiber–you need about 25-30 grams a day, so the more the better. If you are eating a food with more than 5 grams of fiber per serving, make sure you drink water with it so that you don’t become bloated. The Daily Value section at the bottom of the food label will tell you what your fiber goals are (in brief, 25 grams for most women, 30 grams for most men).
• Vitamins and minerals (listed in % values)–the nutrients listed on the food label are the most important ones for several different populations of individuals (for example, iron for pregnant women and small children). More is better of these nutrients, but you can overdose on some of them, so try to keep your daily intake to around 100%.

Now for the “less the better” group:

• Saturated fat and trans fat–foods with lower amounts of these fats are better as these two types can increase serum cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease. Basically, the less the better, so choose foods with the lowest amounts of saturated and trans fat.
• Cholesterol–the less the better, but all animal products or those containing any animal products will have cholesterol. It is ok to eat a food that contains cholesterol, but limit your total intake to less than 300 mg a day.
• Sodium–your total sodium goal each day is less than 2300-2400 mg. Therefore, it’s best to limit your sodium intake to less than 600 - 700 mg a meal.

And now for the nutrients where “balance is key”:

• Protein–fruits are naturally protein free; vegetables, meats, eggs, dairy, soy will contain protein; it’s not crucial that every food item you eat has protein in it but make sure you get some at each meal. See MyPyramid.gov for more information on the amount of protein you need each day, and how to get adequate amounts of it.
• Carbohydrates (carbs)–Total carbohydrates are key, unless you are focusing on fiber. Many people I know focus on the sugar amount–but guess what? Fruit has a lot of sugar in it, but it’s not necessarily bad!!! And when it comes to what your body processes, “a carb is a carb is a carb”. Your body doesn’t distinguish the type of carb that you eat.

Where people often get confused by the nutrition/food label

• The food label tries to standardize serving sizes for all foods within a category. Let’s use bread as an example: one serving is one slice of bread, no matter if it is Pepperidge Farm, Wonderbread, Holsum, etc. So, even if the number of servings per container change, usually you can compare nutrition information on a variety of brands for 1 slice of bread. This is the wonder of the food label. Does that make sense?
• It is crucial to look at the serving size AND the number of servings per container. For instance, many people get confused when it comes to soup–the standard serving is 1 cup, and the standard number of servings is 2 per can–therefore, if the sodium content is 1000 mg per serving, if you eat the whole can (as many of us are prone to do), then you are eating 2000 mg of sodium in one sitting! Scary, isn’t it?
• The Daily Value section. If a food item in the “more is better” section has more than 20% of your Daily Value (DV) of that nutrient, then the food is a “good source” of that nutrient. If a food item in the “less is better” section has more than 20% of your Daily Value of that nutrient, then the food item is somewhat high in that nutrient and it may not always be a good choice. Look at it this way, if your can of soup has 40% of your DV for sodium, then you can only eat another 60% DV of sodium (or 1400 mg) that whole day!

I want to thank my friends for assisting me with this post. I wanted to know what the “normal person” knows about a food label, and what I could clarify, so I asked them! Some of the information they gave me has been incorporated into this post. So, thank you, friends! Also, feel free to contact me if you have other questions about the nutrition label!

Although these are the basics of the food label, check out the American Heart Association and the Food and Drug Administration webpages for further information.

*The nutrition guidelines in this article are for generally healthy individuals. Those with specific disease conditions (like cystic fibrosis) may need different nutrient goals than what is listed in this article. See your physician or registered dietitian for guidelines for your condition.

No related posts