For anyone aiming to make healthier dietary choices, understanding food labels is an essential skill. Whether you’re managing a specific health condition, tracking your calorie intake, or simply wanting to know exactly what’s in your food, the Nutrition Facts label is your most valuable tool. Learning How To Read Labels On Food empowers you to make informed decisions quickly and effectively, contributing significantly to a healthier lifestyle. This guide will break down each section of the food label, providing you with the knowledge to navigate them with confidence.
Understanding the Basics of a Food Label
The Nutrition Facts label is divided into key sections, each providing crucial information about the food product. The top part of the label is product-specific and will change from item to item. This includes details about serving size, calories, and nutrient content. The bottom section remains consistent across all labels, offering a footnote that clarifies the Percent Daily Value (%DV) and the calorie reference used for general nutritional advice.
Deciphering a Sample Food Label
Let’s take a look at a sample label, similar to what you might find on a package of frozen lasagna. We’ll use this as a reference point to explore each section in detail.
Serving Size: Know Your Portion
The first place to focus on a food label is the serving information. This section tells you two important things: the number of servings in the entire package (servings per container) and the size of a single serving size.
Serving sizes are standardized by food category to help you compare similar products easily. They are usually given in common household measurements like cups or pieces, followed by the metric equivalent in grams (g) or milliliters (ml). It’s critical to understand that the serving size listed is not a recommendation of how much you should eat, but rather the amount to which all the nutritional information on the label refers.
Consider the number of servings in the package and how much you typically consume in one sitting. Are you eating a half serving, one serving, or multiple servings? In our lasagna example, one serving is 1 cup. If you were to eat 2 cups, you would be consuming two servings, effectively doubling all the calorie and nutrient values shown on the label.
| Example |
|---|
| Serving Size |
| Calories |
| Total Fat |
| Saturated Fat |
| Trans Fat |
| Cholesterol |
| Sodium |
| Total Carbohydrate |
| Dietary Fiber |
| Total Sugars |
| Added Sugars |
| Protein |
| Vitamin D |
| Calcium |
| Iron |
| Potassium |
Calories: Energy In, Energy Out
The next key section is calories. Calories measure the amount of energy you get from one serving of food.
In our lasagna example, a single serving contains 280 calories. If you were to eat the entire package, which contains 4 servings, you would consume a total of 1,120 calories.
Maintaining a healthy weight is about balancing the calories you consume with the calories your body uses. A 2,000-calorie diet is often used as a general guide for nutrition advice, but individual calorie needs can vary significantly based on factors like age, sex, height, weight, and activity level. Resources like MyPlate can help you determine your personalized calorie needs.
Remember: Overconsumption of calories, regardless of the source, can lead to weight gain. Paying attention to calorie counts per serving and your overall intake is crucial for weight management.
Decoding the Nutrients Section
The nutrients section of the food label lists key nutrients that significantly impact your health. This section is your guide to making dietary choices that align with your nutritional goals. You can use this information to choose foods that are rich in nutrients you need more of and lower in those you may need to limit.
Nutrients to Limit: Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Added Sugars
These nutrients are highlighted as nutrients to get less of because excessive intake is linked to adverse health outcomes. Many people consume too much saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
- Saturated Fat: High intake is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Sodium: Excessive sodium can contribute to high blood pressure.
- Added Sugars: Diets high in added sugars can make it challenging to meet nutrient needs while staying within healthy calorie limits.
Added Sugars vs. Total Sugars
It’s important to distinguish between Total Sugars and Added Sugars on the label.
Total Sugars include all sugars present in the food, both naturally occurring (like fructose in fruit or lactose in milk) and added sugars. There isn’t a Daily Value for total sugars because no daily recommendation exists for total sugar intake.
Added Sugars, on the other hand, are sugars added during food processing, sugars packaged as sweeteners (like table sugar), syrups, honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices. Limiting added sugars is important for overall health.
The label clearly indicates “includes Added Sugars” to show that added sugars are already counted within the total sugars amount.
For example, a yogurt label might show:
This indicates that out of the 15 grams of total sugars, 7 grams are added sugars, and 8 grams are naturally occurring sugars from milk and fruit.
Nutrients to Prioritize: Dietary Fiber, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium
These nutrients are labeled as nutrients to get more of. Many diets are deficient in dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium, which are all vital for maintaining good health.
- Dietary Fiber: Aids digestion, helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol, and promotes satiety.
- Vitamin D: Essential for bone health, immune function, and calcium absorption.
- Calcium: Crucial for strong bones and teeth, nerve function, and muscle contraction.
- Iron: Necessary for carrying oxygen in the blood and preventing anemia.
- Potassium: Helps regulate blood pressure, fluid balance, and nerve signals.
Remember: Use the nutrient section to guide your food choices, opting for foods that provide more of the nutrients you need and less of those you should limit.
Percent Daily Value (%DV): Your Quick Guide
The Percent Daily Value (%DV) simplifies the nutrient information by showing you how much a serving of food contributes to your total daily intake of each nutrient, based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
The %DV is expressed as a percentage and helps you quickly assess whether a serving of food is high or low in a particular nutrient. You don’t need to perform any calculations; the label does the math for you! It puts all nutrients on a scale from 0% to 100% DV, making it easy to interpret the amounts in grams, milligrams, or micrograms.
Using the %DV as a Guide
A simple rule of thumb for using %DV is:
- 5% DV or less is considered low for a nutrient.
- 20% DV or more is considered high for a nutrient.
When choosing foods, aim for:
- Higher %DV for Dietary Fiber, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.
- Lower %DV for Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Added Sugars.
Example: Looking at our lasagna label, sodium has a %DV of 37%. According to the guide, this is a high sodium food (over 20% DV). Consuming two servings would provide 74% of your daily recommended sodium intake – a significant portion.
Compare Foods: Use %DV to compare similar food products. Ensure serving sizes are comparable, and then choose options that are higher in beneficial nutrients and lower in nutrients to limit.
Understand Nutrient Claims: %DV can help you quickly understand claims like “low sodium” or “high fiber.” By comparing the %DV of different products, you can easily see which one better fits the claim.
Dietary Trade-offs: %DV allows you to make informed trade-offs. If you enjoy a food high in saturated fat, you can balance it by choosing foods lower in saturated fat throughout the rest of the day, ensuring your total daily intake stays within healthy limits (ideally below 100% DV).
DVs vs. %DVs: Understanding the Relationship
Daily Values (DVs) are the reference amounts for nutrients, expressed in grams, milligrams, or micrograms, recommended for daily consumption or not to exceed. The %DV is simply the percentage of that Daily Value found in one serving of the food.
Here’s a table illustrating the relationship between DVs, %DVs, and dietary advice for a 2,000-calorie diet:
| Nutrient | DV | %DV | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturated Fat | 20g | =100% DV | Less than |
| Sodium | 2,300mg | =100% DV | Less than |
| Dietary Fiber | 28g | =100% DV | At least |
| Added Sugars | 50g | =100% DV | Less than |
| Vitamin D | 20mcg | =100% DV | At least |
| Calcium | 1,300mg | =100% DV | At least |
| Iron | 18mg | =100% DV | At least |
| Potassium | 4,700mg | =100% DV | At least |
Upper Limit vs. Lower Limit:
- Upper Limit (“Less than”): For nutrients like saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars, the goal is to stay below 100% DV.
- Lower Limit (“At least”): For nutrients like dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium, the goal is to consume at least 100% DV over the course of the day.
Nutrients Without %DV: Trans Fat, Protein, and Total Sugars
Some nutrients on the label, like trans fat and total sugars, do not have a %DV. Protein only lists a %DV in specific cases.
- Trans Fat: Due to health concerns, no Daily Value has been established for trans fat. The recommendation is to keep trans fat intake as low as possible because it is linked to increased LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and heart disease risk. Artificial trans fats have largely been phased out of the US food supply since 2018.
- Protein: A %DV for protein is only required if a protein claim is made (e.g., “high in protein”) or if the product is intended for children under 4. For most adults and children over 4, protein intake is generally not a public health concern in the US.
- Total Sugars: As mentioned earlier, there’s no Daily Value for total sugars, so no %DV is listed. Focus on limiting added sugars instead.
Special Cases and Label Variations
While most food labels follow a standard format, there are a few variations to be aware of.
Dual-Column Labels: For Larger Packages
For items that contain more than one serving but could realistically be eaten in one sitting (or over multiple sittings), manufacturers are required to use dual-column labels. These labels show nutrient information per serving and per package (or per unit). This helps consumers see the total calories and nutrients they would consume if they ate the entire package at once.
For example, a bag of pretzels containing 3 servings might use a dual-column label:
Pretzels
Single-Ingredient Sugar Labels
Products like pure honey, maple syrup, or sugar are treated slightly differently. They are not required to list the grams of Added Sugars but must still declare the %DV for Added Sugars. Often, they use a “†” symbol after the %DV for Added Sugars, which refers to a footnote explaining that a serving of the product contributes to the Daily Value for added sugars and overall diet. This labeling is designed to avoid misleading consumers into thinking extra sugars have been added to pure sugar products while still providing necessary information about added sugar intake.
Here’s an example of a single-ingredient sugar label for honey:
Honey
By understanding these variations and the core components of a Nutrition Facts label, you are now equipped with the knowledge to effectively read labels on food. This skill empowers you to make healthier, more informed food choices, contributing to your overall well-being and nutritional goals.
