December 27, 2002

What Does the Nutrition Info on Food Labels Tell Us?

Robin Chapell, Health Agent

Do you ever look at the Nutrition Facts on product food labels? Do you ever wonder what am I looking for and what useful information do I need to know from them? People look at food labels for different reasons. But for whatever the reason, many of us would like to know how to use this information more effectively and easily.

The first place you should look at on the label is how many serving sizes are contained in the food package. (You should also compare it to how much YOU actually eat of that food product). Do you ever think to yourself, not bad this only has 60 calories and 50 calories from fat, but the sixty calories and 50 fat calories might be for only 2 small cookies and you usually eat 6. Ouch! Serving sizes are provided in familiar units, such as cups or pieces.

The next bit of information that is provided on the Nutrition Facts is the calories. This measures how much energy you get from a serving of the food. The label also tells you how many of the calories in one serving come from fat.

Next comes information on nutrients. This section shows nutrients that are important for your health and separates them into two main groups. The top part includes information on total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates and protein and is separated from the other nutrients on the label. These nutrients need to be limited in your daily intake. Eating too much fat or too much sodium may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases, like heart disease, some cancers, or high blood pressure. Eating too many calories is linked to obesity or being overweight.

The bottom part of the nutrient section, which is usually separated by a heavy bar, shows nutrients which you should get enough of. This group gives you information on the amounts of vitamins, calcium, iron, etc. Eating enough of these nutrients can improve your health and help reduce the risk of some diseases and conditions. For example, getting enough calcium can reduce the risk of osteoporosis. This information is very useful if you know that you need to increase the amount of iron you need to take daily or how much vitamin a you need to take. You can read the food labels to help you plan your daily diet better and to improve your needed intakes.

With the nutrient information, you are also given information on daily values (%DV). Daily values give you a quick way to determine, on a scale from 1-100%, if the nutrients contribute a lot or a little to your daily recommended allowance. For example, if the food label tells you that it contains 12 grams of Total Fat, what does that mean? Is that too much or too little? The Daily Value will tell you that 12 grams of total fat is equivalent to 18% of your daily allowance (roughly 1/5th) of what you should be taking for one day. Generally, anything that is 5%DV or less is low and 20%DV or more is high for a particular nutrient (those you want to limit, eg fat and saturated fat and those you want to consume eg. Fiber, calcium, etc.). Daily Value information is also very useful when you want to compare one product or brand to a similar product. You can compare %DV for total fat in each food to see which one is higher or lower in that nutrient.

Sugars and Protein do not list a %DV on the Nutrition Facts panel. There is no established recommendation for the total amount of sugar to eat in a day. %DV is only listed for protein if the food is meant for children under 4 and infants or if the food claims to be high in protein.

The %DV is based on recommendations for a 2,000 calorie diet. You, like most people, may not know how many calories you consume in a day. But you can still use the %DV as a frame of reference whether or not you eat more or less than 2,000 calories each day. The bottom of the Nutrition Fact label shows you the maximum number of grams you should consume in total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium per day (based on a 2,000 calorie diet). It also tells you how much total carbohydrate and dietary fiber you should consume in one day.

There's a lot of information on that label. Using it can help you plan a better, well balanced diet.