How to Read Nutrition Labels

Nutrition facts labels contain a lot of valuable information. The label gives you detailed facts and information about how much a food product has of a specific nutrient. The labels make it easy for consumers to watch their daily recommended intake of these nutrients.

Nutritional labels will list the following information:

• Fat




• Protein




• Sugars




• Total Fat




• Saturated fat




• Trans fat




• Cholesterol




• Sodium




• Total carbohydrate




• Dietary fiber




• Vitamins and minerals

Healthy individuals need to consume a certain amount of carbohydrates, fats, fiber, protein and vitamins and minerals each day. Saturated fats and trans fats are considered unhealthy. These items should be eaten less.

The nutrition label has an outline of the percentages called the Percent Daily Value. It indicates how much of a certain nutrient one serving of food contains and how much of that nutrient individuals should consume daily. The Percent Daily Value is based on a daily diet of 2,000 calories. If you eat more or less than 2,000 calories per day you should adjust the percentage.

The serving size is located on the back of the label and will usually be at the top. The serving size lets you know how many calories and nutrients are in the product. For example, if your product is an 8-ounce product and the serving size per person is 4 ounces then you have to double the amount for every nutrient label in the packet.