READING FOOD LABELS

Reading food labels will help you quickly identify whether or not the food product is a healthy choice. The food label is a reliable, accurate, user-friendly source of valuable nutrition information. It provides information on the nutrient content of foods. What you learn from reading and comparing food labels will help you avoid any ingredients that you may be sensitive to as well as help you limit nutrients that you want to cut back on and increase those nutrients that you want to consume in greater amounts.

First, when reading food packages, look for any special nutrient claims that emphasize nutrient content and levels. Here is what they represent:

"fat free" means the food has less than a half-gram of fat per serving
"low-fat" means less than 3 grams of fat per serving
"cholesterol free" means less than 2 milligrams
"low cholesterol" means less than 20 milligrams per serving
"low sodium" means under 140 milligrams per serving
"low calorie" means less than 40 calories per serving
"sugar free" means less than a half-gram per serving
"high" or "rich" means the food contains more than 20 percent of the daily need for a specific nutrient and
"fortified" means the food provides more than 10 percent of the daily requirement for that nutrient

If a health claim is made, it will describe the relationship between a food or food component (such as fat, calcium, or fiber) and a disease or health-related condition. The FDA has authorized claims for only seven diet and health relationships that are supported by extensive research.

Read the ingredient list to find out what is in the food. The ingredients are listed in descending order by weight and include any color additives, preservatives, and nutrients, fats, or sugars that have been added.

Most foods in grocery stores have the government-required Nutrition Facts label, which can be found on the side or back of the package. However, very small packages, foods prepared in the store, and foods made by small manufacturers are exempt from having this label.

The Nutrition Facts label enables nutritional comparisons of similar foods. It lists calorie measurements, serving size, percent daily values, minerals and vitamins, nutrients, and fat percentages. It identifies and quantifies key nutrients in a serving as a percentage of daily values (%DV) for a 2,000-calorie diet. The Percent Daily Value of each nutrient shows whether a food is high or low in these nutrients. If one serving of a product has 10 to 19 percent of the Daily Value, it is considered a good source. However, 20 percent or more is considered high.

The Nutrition Facts label gives grams of total carbohydrate, fat, and protein. A low fat food is defined as containing 3 grams of fat or less per serving. Knowing the grams of protein in a food product is especially helpful to people who must restrict their protein intake because they are at risk for developing kidney disease or trying to manage the kidney disease they have developed.

Be aware that the serving sizes listed in the Nutrition Facts label may be different from serving sizes used for diabetic exchange lists and the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. The Pyramid provides easy-to-remember serving sizes for each of the food groups that, in most cases, are nutritionally comparable. The Nutrition Facts label serving sizes provide detailed nutritional information on a food for easy comparison with similar foods. The Nutrition Facts label is deliberately specific for similar food products to allow the consumer to determine the differences of important nutrients between these foods.

For more information about healthy foods, visit the website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Agricultural Library at www.nal.usda.gov/fnic.

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

HIL File NUTR4828.rf2 VRS# 6973 Data Version 7.0