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The Best Life Diet

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How to Read Nutrition Labels

U.S. law requires that packaged foods contain a nutrition label that accurately conveys the following nutritional information about the food product:

Serving size and total servings per container
Nutrient amounts (measured in grams)
Percentages of recommended daily values (based on a 2,000-calorie diet) for:
- Calories and calories from fat
- Total fat, saturated fats, and trans fats
- Cholesterol
- Sodium
- Total carbohydrates, including a breakdown of dietary fiber and sugars
- Protein
- Vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron
Summary of the total daily recommended intake for key nutrients
Table of calories per gram for fat, carbohydrates, and protein

How to Use Nutrition Labels

The nutrition label helps you monitor the nutritional value of the foods you buy and eat. You can use the labels to help you figure out how much of each nutrient you eat per day or to give yourself a sense of whether a particular food is healthy. Healthier foods have several easy-to-spot traits:

Total calories vs. fat calories: The number of total calories should be significantly more than double the number of calories from fat. This indicates that the food is not made mostly of fat.
Total carbs vs. sugars: The grams of total carbohydrates should be more than double the grams of sugars. This shows that the food is high in complex carbohydrates.
Low percentages: Percentages of daily recommended values for saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, and sodium should be low.
High percentages: Percentages of daily recommended values for dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals should be high.
Total fat vs. saturated and trans fats: No more than 10% of the total fat should be made up of saturated fats or trans fats. Try to avoid food products that contain any trans fats whatsoever.

Tricky “Serving Sizes”

The number of calories cited at the top of the nutrition label refers not to the total calories contained within the whole container but rather to the amount of calories per serving. The amount specified as a single serving is not constant across different food items and usually is much less than the amount most people would actually eat in a single serving.

For example, the sample nutrition tag pictured above is for a bag of chips. Based on the label, the chips seem reasonably healthy: 155 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 3 grams of saturated fat. But these nutrient values are for a serving size of 1 ounce (about 17 chips), whereas the bag contains four servings. So if you ate the whole bag, you’d consume 620 calories, 44 grams of fat, and 12 grams of saturated fat—which isn’t healthy. Always check the serving size on the label to assess the nutritional content of the foods you buy.

Misleading Food Packaging Claims

Food packages often tout their contents with enticing phrases such as “light” or “low-fat.” The meanings of these terms are actually specified by the U.S. government: the manufacturer may use them only if the product matches these official definitions:

Light: The product contains a third fewer calories or 50% less fat than the regular version of the same food. Light foods are not necessarily healthy—the original food might be so unhealthy that reducing its fat or calories doesn’t make it nutritious.
Reduced fat or calories: The product contains at least 25% less fat or 25% fewer calories than the original product. If the original product is high in fat or calories, the “reduced” product could also be quite high—just not as high as the original.
Fat free: The product contains less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.
Low fat: The product contains less than 3 grams of fat per serving.
Sugar free: The product contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving.
Low sugar: An undefined term; usually means a teaspoon or less of added sugars.