How To Read a Label

Serving Size/Serving per Container
The serving size and amount of servings per container is a standard set up by the FDA. . This standard is uniform across product categories, making it easier to comparison shop. This indication is important to know how many calories and other nutrients are in the foods you eat.

Calories
Calories are the amount of calories per FDA standard serving. As a general rule, 40 calories per serving is low in calories, 100 calories per serving is reasonable in calories, but 400 calories and more per serving is considered as food high in calories.

Total Fat
Total fat is the total fat per one serving in grams. Considering the amount of total fat in the foods is important if one follows a low fat diet.

Dietary Fiber
Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet. People eating fiber are less likely to be obese, have heart disease or develop problems addicting the bowel, including constipation or cancer. Fiber is found primarily in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and beans. Dietary fiber is the amount of soluble and insoluble fiber (indigestible forms of carbohydrate) per serving.

Percent of Daily Value (%DV)
These percentages indicate how much of each nutrient one serving provides as part of a 2,000-calorie diet (adult’s need). If you eat 1,200 or 3,000 calories a day, this percentage would be adjusted up or down. Five percent or less of the %DV is considered low, whereas 20% or more is considered high.

Calories from Fat
This indication is important as it allows people to be aware of the fat content in the foods. Each gram of fat provides 9 calories so you can figure out the total fat calories in the product by multiplying the total grams of fat by 9. The calories in a food can come from fat, protein or carbohydrate.

Saturated Fat
Saturated fat is a “bad fat” because it raises cholesterol and increases a person’s risk for developing heart disease. Saturated fats are mostly found in animal products like, meat, poultry, fish, baked goods, butter, cheese and tropical oils.. Saturated fat should account for less than 7% of daily calories, which is 15.5 grams of saturated fat per day.

Trans Fats
Although the amount of trans fats is not always listed on all the food labels, you can often identify that they are in a food if it’s listed in the ingredient list as: “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil”. Trans fats are even more detrimental for the heart than saturated fats and should be avoided.

Unsaturated Fat
Unsaturated fat are often called “good fats” because they may protect your heart when consumed in place of foods that contain saturated or trans fats. Labels may list these fats, but are not required to do so. If the label doesn't list unsaturated fats, subtract the sum of the trans and saturated fat from total fat to find out.

Cholesterol
Dietary cholesterol, which should be limited for heart health, is found in animal products. Although cholesterol is important in producing vitamin D, some hormones and in building many other substances in the body, it can become a threat if the amount in the blood is too high. Too much cholesterol can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. It is recommends to not consume more than 300 milligrams per day of cholesterol.

Sodium
Sodium is a component of salt and is listed in milligrams in the food label. Although sodium allows us to keep proper body fluid balance and helps with the transmission of electrical signals through nerves, it can also contribute to high blood pressure. Therefore, the amount of sodium and the %DV should not exceed the 2,400 milligram-per-day limit set by the FDA.

Total Carbohydrate
This is the amount of total carbohydrate per serving measured in grams. Total Carbohydrate includes sugars and complex carbohydrates, the latest being more slowly digested. Complex carbohydrates should be an important source of calories in your diet.

Sugars
Sugars are part of the grams of total carbohydrate but are the natural and added sugars per serving. There is no %DV for sugars. Choose foods that keep sugars low relative to total carbohydrate and fiber.

Protein
Protein is the amount of total protein the food contains measured in grams. The %DV for protein is 50 grams.

Vitamins and Minerals
Food label are required to include Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Calcium and iron in terms of %DV that the serving provides. They sometimes also list additional vitamins and minerals. As a general rule, 5% DV or less is low and 20% DV or more is high for a food component.

Ingredients
The ingredient list includes all elements in a product listed by weight in descending order of amount contained in the product.

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