A sample Nutrition Facts label used in the United States. Copyright: US Food and Drug AdministrationLabels on the foods that we purchase today include measurements of calories, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, and fibre, among other nutrients. But what do the numbers actually mean?
Reading nutrition fact labels can sometimes be confusing – the secret is to know what information to look for and how to use it. Although label standards are different from one country to the next, most nutrition labels share certain common elements.
Start by finding the serving size, which indicates what all the nutrient information is based on. Serving sizes are typically standardised around a fixed weight or quantity, so that you can compare similar foods. Consider how many servings you will actually consume when figuring out your nutrient intake.
Once you know the serving size, you can determine how much of a nutrient you will actually be consuming. For example, a package containing two cookies may have a serving size of one cookie. If the label shows 100 calories per serving and you decide to eat both cookies, you will actually consume two servings – a total of 200 calories.
Each person's daily calorie requirement varies depending on their age and gender. The average adult woman requires 2 000 calories per day, while men require 2 500 calories. Therefore, it is important to know how many calories there are in a serving of the food you are considering.
Of the total number of calories that you consume per day, no more than a third should come from fats. A gram of fat contains 9 calories, so by multiplying the number of grams of fat indicated on the nutrition label by 9, you can work out how many calories per serving will come from fats.
Also, be wary of saturated and trans fats, which can increase your risk of coronary heart disease by raising your bad cholesterol (LDL) and lowering your good cholesterol (HDL) levels. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats to not more than 7 per cent of your total caloric intake each day, while trans fats should be limited to 1 per cent of your daily calories.
A sample food label from the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency. Copyright: Food Standards Agency (UK)Another nutrient to look for on the label is sodium. It is best to limit your sodium intake to 2 400 milligrams per day – roughly the amount of sodium in one teaspoon of salt. Watch out for sodium in packaged masalas, pickles (achar), soy sauce, canned products, frozen foods, and deli meats. Try to select foods listed as low in sodium.
Fibre is an indigestible type of carbohydrate, and is often listed in the carbohydrates section of a nutritional label. Because it is indigestible, it makes no contribution to your calorie intake. Despite this, fibre is associated with significant health benefits and can help in controlling weight and cholesterol levels.
In the United States, adults are recommended to have about 25-30 grams of fibre every day. Breakfast cereals, fruits and vegetables are good sources of fibre. Food with 5 grams or more per serving are considered a high source of fibre, but products containing more than 2.5 grams per serving are also good.
The ingredients label on a food package is also a valuable source of information. In most countries, ingredients are listed in order of weight, with the highest ingredient listed first. This can help you to uncover information that might not be so obvious in the nutrition label.
For example, in the United States a product that contains less than a half gram of trans fats can be labelled as containing 0 grams of trans fat (due to rounding). But if hydrogenated fat appears as one of the first few ingredients, you can be sure that this product is not truly free of trans fats. If you were to eat several products like this in a day, your trans fats would add up!
Also, watch out for sugar. Sugars occur naturally in some foods (e.g. fructose in fruits and lactose in milk), but be wary of products containing high levels of added sugars. You will find added sugars listed among the ingredients, with names like sucrose, corn syrup, sweeteners, honey, and dextrose. Compare the sugar contents of similar foods and give preference to those with lower sugar content that also contain other beneficial nutrients, such as fibre and vitamins.
Nutrition labels can be very useful tools if you know what to look for. Stay away from high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar products, and give preference to high-fibre and low-calorie foods.
