To achieve and maintain good health, educate yourself about nutrition fact labels and use them regularly when shopping. They provide valuable information that will help you make wise food choices. When guessing and estimating just aren’t getting the job done, let the facts speak for themselves. Arm yourselves with the valuable information you need to stay on track and make good health a priority in your home.
No other information on your nutrition fact label will be as important as the serving size and the number of servings per container! If you get this information incorrect, every other piece of information will be inaccurate as well. Always know how much you are consuming!
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 make up the next important piece of the label. These numbers consist of total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, total carbohydrates, and dietary fiber. They also list sugars, protein, cholesterol, and sodium. Some labels are more extensive and list monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and milligrams of potassium. You may see labels that also list important vitamins and minerals, although manufacturers are not required to do so.
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.
Also listed on nutrition fact labels is the Percent Daily Value (%DV). This is a valuable tool that shows you how much of each nutrient one serving provides based on a 2,000 calorie-per-day diet. You do not have to consume 2,000 calories a day to use these numbers. This is just the standard. You don’t have to calculate anything in order to benefit from this information! The %DV does the math for you!
Protein, sugar, and trans fat do not require a % DV. Protein only has to be listed if the food product is for children under the age of four, or if the product claims to be “high in protein.” Trans fat should be avoided at all costs as it is associated with high LDL cholesterol levels. Sugar and it’s many synonyms such as sucrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, honey, syrup, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, and fruit juice should be limited for a healthy diet.
Nutrition fact labels should be utilized whenever they are available. But what is one to do when they are not? A special food scale such as the Eat Smart Nutrition Scale would be an important addition to your wellness arsenal. This “food guidance system” provides the essential nutrients per measured portion for over 999 foods, just by entering a three-digit code. This extensive nutritional database makes it not only possible, but also easy to make wise food choices that will move you closer to achieving a healthy lifestyle.
