How to Read Food Labels

Some general knowledge on diets, nutrients and food labels...

You cannot measure every morsel that passes your lips, but it
is a good idea to measure most foods and beverages until you
get a feel for portion sizes.

It is a super-sized world out there, and most people are surprised
to find that their idea of a single serving is actually two or three.

If you are into bells and whistles, there are food scales that are
preprogrammed with nutritional information, as well as scales
that will keep a running total of your daily food and nutrient
intake for you. The only tools you really need, however, are a
simple and inexpensive gram scale, dry and liquid measuring
cups, and idea on reading food labels.

Among all of the mentioned tools, reading food labels seem to
be the most effective way of determining the right kind of food
to be bought in the supermarket. It lets you make sensible food
selections. Through the “Nutrition Facts” section in a particular
item in the grocery, you can identify the amount of serving sizes
provided in that product.

With food labels, you can clearly understand the amount and
kinds of nutrients that are provided in the item. Usually, it
contains the information on saturated fat, sodium, total fat, fiber,
and cholesterol amount “per serving.”

However, understanding and reading these food labels can be
very perplexing. A typical consumer would definitely ask what
those numbers mean and how it will affect her diet intake if ever
she will religiously follow the serving guide as stipulated on the
food label.

To further have a clear and more comprehensive understanding
of the items stated in the food label, here is a list of things that
you need to know:

1. Serving size

This is the primary item you will see in a food label.

The amount of servings stated in the food label refers to the quantity
of food people usually consume. However, this does not necessarily
mean that it reflects your very own amount of food intake.

Moreover, serving size determines the amount of nutrients that
enters the body. This means that if you will follow strictly what
the serving size is, you will obtain the same amount of nutrients
according to the serving size that was given in the label.

For instance, if the serving size says one serving size is equal to
54 grams, that would mean you have to measure 54 grams and
eat that and you have just eaten one serving. So to speak, the
amount of nutrients stated in the food label is the same amount
that has entered your body considering the fact that you have
just eaten 54 grams.

However, if you have eaten everything, and the food label says
that each pack is equivalent to 4 servings, you have to calculate
the amount of nutrients that have entered your body.
This means that if the food label says 250 calories per serving
that means you have to multiply it to four to get the total
amount of calories you have taken.

2. Nutrients

This refers to the list of available nutrients in a particular item.
It is also where the nutritional claims of the product based on
the recommended daily dietary allowance are stated. Usually,
the nutritional amounts are based on both the 2,500-calorie
diets and the 2,000 recommended dietary allowances.

In order to understand the numeric value of each item, you
should know that the “% daily value” that the food label indicates
is actually based on how a particular food corresponds to the
recommended daily dietary allowance for a 2,000 calorie.

If in the event that you have purchased an item that has a
dietary allowance different from the 2,000-calorie diet, you just
have to divide the stipulated amount by 2,000 and you will be
able to identify the “%daily value” for the nutrients.

3. Ingredients

This refers to the list of the ingredients that were used to
manufacture the product. The listing is usually arranged from
the main ingredients that have the greater amount by weight
up to the smallest quantity. This simply means that the actual
quantity of the food includes the biggest quantity of the main
ingredient or the first item and the minimum amount of the
very last ingredient.

4. Label claim

This refers to the kinds of nutritional claims of a particular food
item. For instance, if an item says it is sodium-free, it has less
than 5 milligrams per serving or a low fat item actually contains
3 grams of fat or less.

Indeed, reading food labels can be very tedious and confusing.
Nevertheless, once you get the hang of it, it would be easier for
you to watch your diet because you can already control the
amount of food that you take.

Visit this website site to learn more about:
- Low Carb Diets
- Low Calorie Diets, and
- Low Fat Diets

Tags: food+labels diets nutrition