How to Read and Interpret a Food Label for Better Health & Well Being

Today, health consciousness is a part of our everyday lives. We all would like to know how the foods we eat affect our chances for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and other common diseases. That's exactly why we see so many people nowadays standing in the grocery aisle comparing nutritional food labels. What are they looking for? How can we know what's good for us, and what causes harm? Let's take a quick look at how we can use the information provided on the nutritional food label to improve our health.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Any packaged grocery store item with a nutritional food label attached.

1. 

   Serving Size. Serving size as printed on the label often deceives the uninformed shopper into thinking the entire package is counted as one meal, or one serving. So many foods are labeled this way including microwavable meals, soups, canned meals, and boxed dinners.
   
   Take a closer look directly under Nutrition Facts. Chances are, the label says something like, "Serving Size 1 cup;" then under that statement it says, "Servings: About 2." This means that everything else you see on the label; fats, cholesterol, sodium, sugars, carbohydrates; is multiplied by two if you eat the entire meal, which most people do (e.g., canned ravioli). So don't be fooled; check the serving size and servings per container before you indulge.

2. 
   Calories

   Calories. Daily caloric intake is probably the prime consideration in any diet plan. Adults need anywhere between 1200 to 2500 calories per day depending on their body mass index (BMI), a calculation of gender, age, height, weight, and daily activity. Remember that calories as listed on the food label are per serving. Also note that the label tells you the total calories from fat; of course, the fewer calories from fat, the better.

3. 
   Fat & Cholesterol

   Fat & Cholesterol. The troublemakers of the nutritional label and thought to add to the risk of obesity and heart disease, fat and cholesterol are probably the most studied part of the nutritional label by most consumers. First you will see the total fat measured in grams; then a breakdown of exactly what kinds of fats and their amounts. Saturated and trans fats are the worst, the latter having been added recently due to the discovery that they may be even more harmful than plaque-inducing saturated fats. However, monounsaturated fats such as those found in olive oil are actually beneficial, so you should look for higher levels of this type of fat.
   
   For cholesterol, look at the milligrams and also the recommended daily intake. For example, a can of 99-percent fat free ravioli measures 10mg of cholesterol (3 percent daily intake) per serving or 20mg cholesterol (6 percent daily intake) if you eat the entire can. On the other hand, raisin bran contains zero cholesterol on its own; but factor in one-half cup of skim milk and the level goes up to 1 percent.

4. 
   Sodium

   Sodium. The American diet is ubiquitously high in sodium. It's really hard to avoid unless you cook all your meals from scratch 100 percent of the time. Chain restaurants, fast food, and prepackaged meals are notorious for their high-sodium content which has a negative effect on blood pressure among other things. Look for low-sodium products and remember that the listing on the food label is per serving (you could be eating a lot more sodium than you think!).

5. 
   Carbohydrates

   Carbohydrates. Remember the Atkins low-carb diet craze a few years back? The idea was that carbohydrates such as flour and sugar cause obesity, thus a high-protein diet with lots of meat and dairy products was beneficial in losing weight. Though Dr. Robert Atkins' research is still hotly debated today, you can still look on the nutritional label in order to see how many carbs are from fiber and how many are from sugars to form the total amount of carbohydrates measured in grams.

6. 
   Dietary Fiber

   Dietary Fiber. Thought to help prevent heart disease, fiber can be consumed through foods such as breads and cereals or through daily supplements.

7. 
   Sugar

   Sugar. High sugar content in the foods we eat is being blamed for an increase in early onset diabetes. Too much sugar can also cause dental problems such as cavities and tooth decay, not to mention that "sugar rush" that makes kids particularly excitable. Sugars are simply measured in grams. Watch out in particular for fruit juices, which tend to be very high in sugars. But watch out also for unsuspecting prepackaged foods such as frozen dinners; these tend to be high in sugar as well, as do most fast foods.

8. Potassium. Most people don't get enough heart-healthy potassium in their diets, which can help lower blood pressure along with exercise and a low-sodium diet. Some high-potassium foods include bananas, prunes, orange juice, dried apricots, yogurt, and vegetable juice. Not every label displays potassium levels because not every food has significant quantities of this important nutrient.

9. 
   Vitamins & Minerals

   Vitamins & Minerals. If there's a vitamin that you would like to get more of, for example Vitamin C, take a look at the quantities here (measured in percent daily value). Many people also look for calcium to build stronger bones and teeth.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember the three bad boys of the American diet: sugars, fats, and salts. Inspect the nutritional label for these three culprits that lead to diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, and heart disease.
• Make a heart-healthy potassium-rich smoothie by dropping two bananas, one cup of plain yogurt, and two cups of orange juice into your blender. Add ice and optional vanilla extract and blend on high for thirty seconds.
• Always look at the serving size first to determine how many servings are listed. If it's two, you must remember that all else (fats, sodium, carbs, etc.) doubles if you treat the product as one meal and eat the entire thing at once. Soups, canned chili, canned ravioli, and boxed meals are notorious for this.

Resources

• Wikipedia's Food Label Description
• USDA Nutrition.gov

[dsarokin]

on 11/14/2008 Heh! I'm one of those people blocking the aisles while reading the labels. Now I know what I'm looking at! Thanks.