Hi, I'm Charlotte Lawson, a Registered, Licensed Dietitian here in Tampa Bay, Florida. We're going to take a look at the amazing nutrition facts label. This is something you can find on any food that's packaged or processed in a bag or a box, and this is going to be your guide to making healthy, nutritious choices. You can even ask for these things when you're out in the store or restaurant, even the fast food drive-thru. So, first and foremost, we want to look at the serving size that's on that nutrition facts label. If you don't know the serving size, the rest of the numbers are going to make no sense to you, nor they're going to benefit you. Let's take a look at the nutrition facts label. It's divided into two parts. One tells you how much of the different nutrient components there are. The other side divides it into percent daily value. This percent daily value is based on an average 2,000 calorie diet, which may be more or less than you actually need for yourself. So, sometimes looking at just the amounts of the nutrient components may be more, more beneficial to you. So, after we have a look at the serving size, we can move down into the calories. This is telling you how much energy this one serving will provide you. Now, be aware that something that you think is one serving size, say an entire bottle of soda, may actually be two and a half servings of soda. So, when you take a look at that calories, and say a 180 or something, you think isn't so bad. Remember, you need to multiply that two and a half times. So again, serving size is very important. Secondly, we move down and we see the total fat content. This tells you exactly how many grams of fat are in this product. Now, fat is divided into, pretty much, good fat and bad fat. Your saturated and trans are the kind that are negatively going to affect your heart, whereas your monounsaturated and polyunsaturated are good sources of fat for you. They can actually help improve your triglyceride and cholesterol levels. So again, be aware of how much fat is in there per serving. The next would be cholesterol. Cholesterol is mainly found in animal products. This will pair directly with how, the amount of fat that's in that product. Having a lower amount of cholesterol per serving is definitely a great idea to keep in mind. Moving down, we have the sodium listed. Sodium is very difficult because it is found in everything naturally, except for pure fat and pure sugar. But the thing you need to be aware of is that added sodium comes in a lot of things. We try to stay around 2400 milligrams of sodium per day, which is an easy, round number to think; 800 milligrams per meal. So, if something has 700 milligrams of sodium per serving, that may not be a very good choice for you. And again, watch out for those processed and packaged foods, as they are more likely to contain higher amounts of sodium. Moving down, we have the carbohydrates. This is where you're going to find the amounts of fiber and good carbohydrates for you, as well as added sugars. Now, if you are a diabetic, be aware that carbohydrates are the same as sugar in fiber and do not exclude either of them. Again, carbohydrates could come in about a serving of 15 grams, and that's a good choice for you. Looking down at the fiber, anything above 3 grams would be considered a great source of fiber and fiber is great for us in many different ways. And finally, we have protein listed here. Protein is a good source of energy, especially found in lean forms. A lot of proteins come from our animal products, but don't exclude other products, like beans and legumes, that are also great sources of protein. So, in short, this is the nutrition facts label, which is an excellent tool for you to help be healthy in all your food choices. Remember, serving size first, because everything else past that won't make sense unless you realize that. For more information on how to read nutrition facts labels, visit eathappy.info. I'm Charlotte, and eat happy.
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