Digesting the Nutrition Label

From the July 2015 Benefits eNews

Here are three quick tips to make it easier for you to use nutrition labels to make informed food choices that contribute to a healthy diet.

  1. Look at the serving size AND calories: Pay attention to the serving size, especially how many servings there are in the food package. Then ask yourself, "How many servings am I consuming"? (e.g., half, one or more). Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of this food.
     
  2. Focus on the nutrients you need and those you don’t: Nutrients you WANT include dietary fiber, protein, calcium, iron, and other vitamins. AVOID high amounts of saturated fats, trans fats and sodium.
     
  3. Get to know the Percent Daily Value (%DV): The Percent Daily Values (%DVs) are based on the Daily Value recommendations for key nutrients for a 2,000 calorie daily diet. According to the FDA, if a food has 5%DV or less it’s considered as having a low concentration of that nutrient, and anything that’s 20%DV or more is a high concentration. 

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Source: FDA.gov

Topics:
Nutrition Weight Management