You’ve likely seen nutrition labels on almost every food you purchase at the store, but what do they mean? What should you look for? In today’s blog post we’ll look at how to read a nutrition label, the purpose of each nutrient, what is considered high or low amounts for nutrients, and how to use the labels to make healthful decisions.
What foods require a nutrition label?
Most packaged foods will require a label, but there are some exemptions. Raw fruits, raw vegetables, and fish are all items not required to have a nutrition label. Infant formula also does not require a label, as well as items that contain insignificant levels of nutrients found on the label such as tea and coffee. Small businesses can also file for exemptions.
Did you know?
Dietary supplements do not require nutrition labels. In fact, they are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at all unless they make specific health claims. Some supplements can interfere with certain medications. It’s always best to speak with your doctor and dietitian if you wish to add a dietary supplement to your daily routine.
What nutrients must be included on a nutrition label?
Total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium are all required to be on a nutrition label. In addition to these, if an item makes a claim about a certain nutrient (such as high in vitamin C) it must also be included on the label. If the product has any added vitamins or minerals, it should be there too. That is a lot of nutrients, so what does it all mean? Let’s look at each nutrient a bit closer.
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- Total Fat: This number includes all the types of fats in a product. Fat is vital for cell functions and helps our bodies stay warm. They also provide a source of energy for the body and pad our organs for protection. We will talk about two types of fats, but you may also see monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats lists on a label. The daily value (DV) for fat is 78 grams (g).
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- Saturated Fat: This type of fat is most commonly found in animal protein sources such as meat, butter, and cheese. These fats raise bad cholesterol (LDL) levels and are linked to heart disease. The daily value for saturated fat is 20 grams (g).
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- Trans Fat: This type of fat is often found in deep fried foods. Not only do trans fats raise your bad cholesterol (LDL) but they also lower your good cholesterol (HDL). Since all numbers on a nutrition label are rounded, you can look at the ingredients list to see if a product contains a small amount of trans fats. This is usually located below of besides the nutrition facts. If the words “partially hydrogenated oil” appears in the ingredients, then the product has less than 0.5 grams (g) of trans fat. For these foods, limit to one serving. Trans fats do not have a daily value.
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- Cholesterol: Our bodies produce all of the cholesterol it needs to function, but it’s also found in foods. Often times foods that are high in saturated fats are also higher in cholesterol. Organ meats like liver and gizzards, and eggs are examples of higher cholesterol foods. The daily value for cholesterol is 300 milligrams (mg).
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- Sodium: Sodium plays a vital role in muscle and nerve function. It also helps the body maintain a fluid balance. In our foods, it is mainly found in the form of salt. A high intake of sodium can increase blood pressure, and if left untreated, can lead to heart issues. The daily value for sodium is 2,300 milligrams (mg).
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- Total Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates tend to get a bad rap in the world of diet culture. However, carbohydrates are our body’s main energy source. The brain, heart, and muscles all prefer carbohydrates as their energy rather than fats or proteins. They help maintain blood glucose (sugar) levels, store energy, and metabolize fats. If you count carbohydrates to help control diabetes, total carbohydrates is the number that counts towards your carb allotment. The daily value for total carbohydrates is 275 grams (g) per day. The next three items are types of carbohydrates.
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- Dietary Fiber: Dietary fiber is mainly found in plants. Our bodies cannot digest these fibers, which makes them a vital part of a healthy GI tract. Fiber can help maintain healthy bowel movements, balance out blood sugars, decrease bad cholesterol (LDL), and keep you fuller for longer. The daily value for fiber is 28 grams (g).
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- Total Sugars: This includes both naturally occurring sugars and ones added to the product. Sugar is just one type of carbohydrate, this can show you what comes from sugar and what comes from other carbohydrate sources when looking at the total carbohydrate number. There is no daily value for total sugars.
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- Added Sugars: These are the sugars that are intentionally added to a product. These sugars are processed very fast in the body and can lead to blood sugar spikes. The daily value for added sugars is 50 grams (g).
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- Protein: Proteins are often called the building blocks of the body, which they are! These are vital to repair our bodies as our cells complete their life cycle and new ones are needed. They also build muscles and tissues, and help to produce hormones. The daily value for protein is 50 grams (g).
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- Vitamin D: This vitamin plays a role in bone, immune system, and nerve health and function. It is often linked to energy levels as well. The daily value for vitamin D is 20 micrograms (mcg).
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- Calcium: Like vitamin D, calcium also plays a role in bone health and nerve function. Calcium also plays a role in blood clotting and muscle contractions. The daily value for calcium is 1300 milligrams (mg).
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- Iron: Iron plays a major role in the function of our blood but also has roles in growth and hormone production. It helps our body add oxygen to our blood so it can then get to all parts of our bodies. The daily value for iron is 18 milligrams (mg).
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- Potassium: Potassiums main role in our bodies is to maintain fluid balance. It works with sodium to maintain balance between the inside and outside of the cells. Potassium also plays roles in muscle contraction and blood pressure. The daily value for potassium is 4700 milligrams (mg).
What about the rest of the label?
The serving size is how much of the food item you can eat for the nutrient values listed on the label. This is not saying that this is all you can eat, you can eat more or less, you would just have to multiply or divide to know the facts. The serving size is set to compare like products. For example, all the cold cereals will have about the same serving size as will all the yogurts. This makes it easy to compare products together to meet your nutrition goals.
The servings per container shows just that, how many servings are in the container. If you eat the entire container, you would multiply the nutrient amounts by the servings per container to get the total of each nutrient for the container/package.
Calories are the total energy in an item. The amount of calories is determined by a calculation with fat, protein, and carbohydrates. On each day, you likely need a different level of calories. It is important to speak to your dietitian to ensure you are eating enough calories.
Lastly, we are going to look at the % Daily Value. If you look back at the nutrient types, a daily value number is listed on most of them. % daily value shows what percent of the total daily value the serving of that specific food contains. 5% or lower means a low level, while 20% or higher means a high level.
Ideally, we want to choose foods higher in fiber, vitamin D, calcium, potassium, and iron and foods low in saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars.
There are many different claims a product can make for marketing. Examples are low sodium, lower sodium, and reduced sodium. These three sound very similar, but they mean very different things. This is the reason nutrition labels come in very handy! You can take the confusion out of the marketing ploys and go straight to the nutrition label to see exactly what is in a product.
What does organic mean?
If a food is labeled “organic” it means it was produced without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. This does not change the nutrition of a product. This label usually comes with a heftier price tag as organic products have lower yields (how much is grown in a space). You do not have to eat only organic foods to be healthy.
The bottom line
The nutrition label is a small part of packaging but gives so much information. Best of all, they are already included in most of the foods we already buy so no extra cost! This is the easiest way to compare products to see which would help you meet your nutrition needs and decide between products.
