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Unveiling the mysteries of food labels
by Amy Magnuson, MS, RD
| Quick Tip: It may seem like you need a degree in nutrition and mathematics to understand the serving size description alone but interpreting a food label is a helpful skill you can use to make the best choices at the grocery store. It's like learning another language. Once you have these basics, you will be able to pull the true values off a label at a glance. |
Serving Size – Be sure to pay particular attention to the serving size. What you consider to be one serving may be more (or less) than the package denotes. You will find out by looking at the Servings Per Container. If there are three servings per container, and you eat the entire amount, you will need to multiply everything by three.
The Calories will tell you
how many calories per serving. You may need anywhere from 1200 to 2400
calories per day. A snack food typically contains
around 150 - 300 calories, but a meal may be as much as 500 – 800
calories.
The Total Fat gives the total grams of fat in each serving of the food.
A "low-fat" snack will have three grams or less per serving
(by law). Because meals are typically higher in calories, they may
have as much as 10 – 20 grams of fat. If you are trying to reduce
the total fat in your diet, choose frozen dinners that have 3 grams
or less per 100 calories.
Saturated Fat is part of the Total Fat. The remainder is Unsaturated Fat (it may or may not be listed). Unsaturated Fat is broken down into Polyunsaturated Fat and Monounsaturated Fat. It is recommended that you should have approximately one-third of your total fat from each (saturated, poly and mono). Try to limit your daily saturated fat intake to 10-20 grams per day. You may want to reduce your Saturated Fat even more if you have high cholesterol.
Only animal products will have Cholesterol. The recommended limit for cholesterol is 300 mg per day for most people. Our body naturally makes cholesterol, therefore it is not an essential nutrient, that we need to consume every day. By following the food guide pyramid, a primarily plant-based diet, cholesterol consumption will be low.
Total Carbohydrate shows the total grams of carbohydrates in one serving. Remember, at least 50-60% of our diets should be made up of carbohydrates. There is no need to count carbohydrates in all foods, if you are monitoring your portion sizes and number of servings in each group.
Dietary Fiber is included in the Total Carbohydrates. Fiber comes from the seeds, leaves and stems of plant products. A good source of fiber will have at least 2-3 grams per serving. Whole grain breads, cereals, crackers, rice and pasta will contain fiber. Fruits and vegetables are also good sources of fiber. We need about 20-35 grams of fiber per day.
Total Sugar is also included in the Total Carbohydrates. We should limit our sugar intake to 10% of our total calories or 40-50 grams per day. Sugar has low nutritional value, yet foods high in sugar may also be high in calories. Fruit sugar (fructose) and milk sugar (lactose) are included in the total sugar along with table sugar (sucrose). In the case of yogurt and fruit juices, check the ingredients to see if any sugar has been added besides the natural milk and fruit sugars. High fructose corn syrup, molasses, honey, corn syrup and brown sugar are all types of regular sugar.
Protein should make up at least 12-15% of our total calories, for most people that equates to 40-60 grams per day. Meats, dairy, eggs, nuts, beans, poultry and fish are all good sources of protein. A 3-ounce chicken breast contains approximately 20-25 grams of protein. Consuming a good protein source 2-3 times per day will most likely ensure adequate protein consumption.
Some foods are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron. If a food contains at least 25% of the vitamin or mineral, that food is a good source of the nutrient.
The bottom of the label provides information based on a 2,000 or 2,500 calorie diet. If your calorie requirement is above or below this amount, those recommendations may not be accurate for you. The Daily Values are also based on a 2,000 calorie diet and may or may not be accurate for your caloric intake. You may decide to ignore these numbers and pay attention to total grams of nutrients if that helps you reach your nutritional goals.
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