Educate yourself about nutrition fact labels to help you achieve and maintain good health. The relevant information provided by these food labels makes it possible for you to quit guessing and estimating and start succeeding in the quest to reach your desired weight! Make this one of your most treasured tools to help you reach all of your wellness goals.
Serving size and the number of servings per container are the two most important pieces of information that you will find on the nutrition fact label. Everything else depends on this information being accurate! Looks can be deceiving and it is essential to know how much you consume.
The next thing to note on the label is the number of total calories and the number of calories from fat. Remember that everything is listed per serving! If you have two or three servings in your package, you must double or triple this information. A calorie is a unit of measure that tells you how much energy is provided per serving of that food. In order to reach and maintain your ideal weight, you must expend more calories than you consume.
Nutrition numbers are the next piece of information provided. These include total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, total carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, cholesterol, and sodium. Sometimes you will see monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as well. Even though manufacturers are not required to do so, many also include potassium, vitamins, and minerals on their labels.
Notice that the first several nutrients are the ones you want to limit in your diet. Eating too much fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, or sodium may increase your risk of heart disease, cancers, and high blood pressure. The nutrients listed next are the ones that you need to make sure you get enough of. Most people don’t get enough fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Getting enough of these nutrients can improve your general health and reduce your risk of some diseases and conditions.
A footnote is included on the bottom of many nutrition fact labels. Depending on the size of the label, some footnotes provide more information than others. Basically, the footnote teaches us that the recommended dietary amounts for all Americans are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. This is standard information that does not change according to the food item.
The Percent Daily Value, or %DV, makes it very easy for us to make sure we consume 100% of our total nutrients. This percentage computes how much of each nutrient one serving provides. You don’t have to eat 2,000 calories each day to benefit from this calculation.
You will notice that trans fat, protein, and sugars do not have %DV. Research links trans fat to high LDL cholesterol levels and should be avoided! %DV only has to be listed for protein if the product claims to be “high in protein” or if the product is for children under the age of four, and there is no daily recommended amount for sugar. Keep in mind that sugar has many synonyms, such as sucrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, honey, syrup, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, or fruit juice.
If used correctly, nutrition fact labels are an extremely valuable resource, but unfortunately, they are not always available. For those times when you don’t have the option of using a nutrition fact label, equip your kitchen with an Eat Smart Nutrition Scale. This impressive food scale instantly calculates and displays key nutrients for specific portions of 999 foods! It serves as a “food guidance system” as you work to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
