How to Read Nutrition Information on Labels

Have you every wondered what all the information means on the food labels? Have you ever wondered why an item reads reduced fat, but still looks like a high fat item? It is all in the wording. Here is a crash course in understanding all the information regarding label reading and the nutrition facts.

Let us start with the nutrition label itself. This is a sample label for macaroni and cheese.

Macaroni & Cheese
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup (228g)
Serving Per Container 2

Amount Per Serving

Calories 250 Calories from Fat 110

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 12g 18%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 30g 10%
Sodium 470mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 31g 10%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 5g
Protein 5g
Vitamin A 4%
Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 20%
Iron 4%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
Calories:
2,000
2,500

Total Fat Less than 55g 80g
Sat Fat Less than 20g 25g
Cholesterol Less than 300mg 300mg
Sodium 2,400mg 2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate 300g 375g
Dietary Fiber 25g 30g

1. The first section lays out the serving size that corresponds with the nutrition facts. This package describes the nutritional content of 1 cup of macaroni and cheese. There are only two servings for the entire container. So all the fat, calories, carbohydrate, protein information is based on 1 serving and not the entire box. If you were to eat the entire box, you would double the calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, sodium and cholesterol.

2. Check calories describes how many calories per serving and not the entire package. If you ate both servings, you would receive 500 calories versus 250 calories. The calories from fat are based on the total number of fat grams in one serving, which is located in section 3. To figure out how many calories come from fat, you would take the total number of fat grams and multiply by 9. This gives you the total number of calories coming from fat.

3. Nutrients – This label describes how many grams of fat, carbohydrate and protein are in one serving. Also listed are the number of milligrams of sodium and cholesterol. One cup of mac and cheese contains 12 grams of fat, 3 grams of the fat are saturated fat and 3 grams are Trans fats. This is a new category is illustrated on the food label to help you manage your triglyceride and good cholesterol levels. Trans fats have been shown to raise triglyceride levels and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol level, which may increase your risk for heart disease. This is extremely important for those on cholesterol lowering medications because your good cholesterol level is usually lower than it should be. The yellow highlighted area designates all fat nutrients because we all need to eat less fat in our diet.

To help navigate through the food label keep this in mind, low fat contains 3 grams of fat per serving or less. Fat free items contain less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving. Reduced/Less calories/fat just contains 25% less fat than the original version of the item or reference item, but does not mean it is a low calorie/fat item. Lite/Light means the food item meets the requirements for low calorie/fat version of the food item.

Cholesterol content of food items follows the same guidelines as fat and calories. For an item to carry the label “cholesterol free”, the item must contain less than 2 mg of cholesterol per serving. Low cholesterol means 20 mg of cholesterol per serving or less. Reduced/less cholesterol means it contains less than 25% cholesterol of the regular version of the food. Reduced/less cholesterol does not always mean the food item is a low cholesterol food. So read your food labels.

Sodium free items contain less than 5 mg of sodium per serving. Low sodium foods contain less than 140 mg of sodium per serving. For meals and dishes, low sodium is defined as less than 140 mg of sodium per 100 grams of the food item. Typically, for frozen food diners, it is recommended to keep the sodium intake to 350 mg or less per meal. Reduced/less sodium is defined as having 25% less sodium than the original food item. Light in sodium means sodium is reduced by at least 50% per serving size compared to the original food item. This does not mean the item is low sodium! No Salt Added and Unsalted does not define a food as being low in sodium or sodium free. It just means no added salt was used during the manufacturing of the food item.

The total carbohydrate information is listed for those keeping track of how many grams of starches are in items. This section is further broken down into the number of grams of fiber and sugars.

To learn if an item is high in fiber and low in sugar, you need to follow these guidelines. High fiber items contain 5 grams of fiber or more per serving. Low sugar items contain less than 5 grams of sugar per serving, but the FDA has not defined this statement. Sugar free items are defines as containing less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. To ensure you are keeping your sugar content low, remember you are avoiding added sugar. Naturally occurring sugars, like those found in milk/dairy products will not cause you to dump, if you have had gastric bypass surgery. You want to avoid sugar that has been added to a food item. The average American eats about 160 pounds of sugar per year!!!!!! So keep the sugar intake down to a minimum.

Protein is not given a reference point because most Americans consume adequate amounts of protein. We rarely suffer any shortages of protein in our diets because most portion sizes at home and restaurants exceed the recommended 3 oz serving. At this time there are no definitions of low protein foods or high protein foods based on the food label.

4. The blue highlighted areas – fiber, vitamins A and C, Iron and Calcium are nutrients all Americans need to consume more to lower certain health risk. The blue area draws your attention to how much fiber, vitamins A and C, Iron and Calcium are in this food to ensure you are receiving enough in your daily diet.

5. The footnote at the bottom of the food label designates the calorie needs of the average male and female. This corresponds to the daily values area where percentages are given for calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, fiber and vitamins/minerals. It is recommended not to pay attention to this area because most gastric surgery patients taken in far less than 2000 calories per day. For the vitamin/mineral section, you will still want the percentages to exceed 20% because your need for vitamins A, C, and minerals iron and calcium are still the same as all Americans.

This has been your crash course in reading nutrition labels. There is a lot of information contained in the food label. You need to be a well-informed consumer in order to avoid nutrients you need less of in your diet and you can focus on the nutrients you body needs.