How to Read Nutrition Labels
Are you planning on managing your weight but don’t know where to start? Aside from going on a diet, knowing what you eat and how many nutrients you’re taking in are also important. One way to do this is by reading the nutrition labels of the foods you buy. Here are a few steps to guide you in understanding these labels.
Steps:
Serving size and servings per container. You can find these at the top portion of a nutrition label. This information tells you how much you’re eating in every package you buy. If a package contains 2 servings and you plan on consuming the entire pack, then you need to double the values written on the label.
Calories and calories from fat. Calories tell you how much energy there is in the food. This is very important in determining whether you need to lessen or increase your calorie intake to meet your daily needs. Knowing how much calories are derived from fat helps you manage your weight effectively. Having too much calories in your diet causes weight gain.
Total Fat. This indicates how much fat there is in the food. There are several types of fat and some of them are not good for your body. Saturated and Trans fat aren’t good for you. You can get these from animal and vegetable sources. Some of the good fats are omega-3, monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Cholesterol. High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and Low Density Lipoprotein are two kinds of the cholesterol. HDL is good cholesterol while LDL is not.
Sodium. Processed foods are known to have high sodium content.
Carbohydrates. This is a good source of energy for your body.
Fiber. This is a type of carbohydrate that your body can’t digest. It aids your body in digesting foods. Eating enough fiber will decrease your risk of having constipation and heart diseases.
Protein boosts your immune system and is needed for growth and repair of your tissues.
Vitamins and minerals. Foods contain a certain amount of vitamins and minerals. It is important to know how much you’re getting so that you will know how much more you need to take from other sources.
Percentage daily value. Recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is the amount of nutrients you need to have everyday while percentage daily value (DV) is the amount of nutrients present in foods. For example, one serving gives you 5% of the recommended value of protein, you still need to have other sources of protein to meet the recommended amount.
Footnote. Do not take the bottom part of the nutrition label for granted. This is where you can see the RDA based on a certain amount of calorie. Most products are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Even if you don’t know how much calorie you take everyday, this part will still help you determine whether or not you need to increase the amount of nutrients you take.
Tips:
Limit your intake of the following:
fat
cholesterol
sodium
Make sure you are getting enough of these everyday:
dietary fiber
Vitamins A and C
Calcium
Iron
5% daily value of any nutrient is considered low and 20% is high.
Understanding what is written on a nutrition label will help you meet your daily nutrition needs. This way you wouldn’t be left wondering if you are getting enough nutrients from the food you eat.