Section Overview
This section describes how to read a nutrition facts label, definitions of keywords located on the food label and provides nutrition tips to incorporate when reviewing food labels.
What is a Nutrition Facts Label?
A nutrition facts label tells you about what is in the food including the serving size, calories, and specific nutrients. It can help you make informed decisions about the foods you are consuming. Most all foods packaged in boxes, bags, cans, and containers should have a nutrition label. Many restaurants also have nutritional information about their food items either on the menu or upon request.
How to Read a Nutrition Facts Label
Being able to read a nutrition facts label is a crucial step to selecting the right fuel source!
Step 1: Look at the serving size
- Look at the serving size and the number of servings per package
- A package may contain more than 1 serving
- Compare your typical portion size to the one listed on the nutrition facts label
- For instance, if the serving is 1 cup and you typically have 2 cups, that indicates you are consuming twice the calories and nutrients
Step 2: Look at the total calories
- Calories refer to the total number of calories provided from all sources (including fat, carbohydrates, and protein) in one serving of the food item
- Did you know? 100 calories per serving is considered moderate & 400 calories per serving is considered high!
Step 3: Look at the nutrition terms
The nutrition terms tell you about the nutrients in each serving. Food companies may label a food “high” or “low” in a nutrient based on the nutritional content in each serving.
- Calorie Free: < 5 calories per serving
- Low Calorie: ≤ 40 calories per serving
- Fat Free/Trans Fat Free/Sugar Free: < 0.5 gram of fat or sugar per serving
- Low Sugar: ≤ 5% of DV from added sugar per serving
- High Sugar: ≥ 20% of DV from added sugar per serving
- Did you know? Some foods contain natural sugars while “added sugars” indicates that sugar was added during manufacturing.
- High Fiber: ≥ 20% of DV from fiber per serving
- Low Fat: ≤ 3 grams of fat per serving
- Low Saturated Fat: ≤ 1 gram per serving, with ≤ 5% of calories from saturated fat
- Low Cholesterol: ≤ 20 mg per serving
- Low Sodium: ≤ 140 mg per serving
- Very Low Sodium: ≤ 35 mg per serving
Step 4: Check out the % Daily Values (DV)
- The percent Daily Value (DV) tells you the percentage of each nutrient in a serving based on the daily recommended amount for a standard 2,000 calories per day
- The percent DV can help you to determine if you are getting a little or a lot of a specific nutrient
- Reminder: A person’s daily calories needed may be higher or lower than the reference standard based on individual characteristics (height, weight, age, sex, & physical activity)
Nutrition Tips
- Try to consume more foods rich in potassium, fiber, vitamin A & C, iron and calcium
- Associated with improving health and reducing the risk of certain diseases
- Limit foods high in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar
- Excessive intake can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders, obesity, & type 2 diabetes
- Avoid foods with trans fat
- Associated with increased risk of heart disease
- Incorporate unsaturated fats into your diet
- Contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that can help reduce “bad” cholesterol