How to Read Food Labels

It lets you make sensible food selections. Through the "Nutrition Facts" section in a particular item in the grocery, you can identify the amount of serving sizes provided in that product.

With food labels, you can clearly understand the amount and kinds of nutrients that are provided in the item. Usually, it contains the information on saturated fat, sodium, total fat, fiber, and cholesterol amount "per serving."

However, understanding and reading these food labels can be very perplexing. A typical consumer would definitely ask what those numbers mean and how it will affect her diet intake if ever she will religiously follow the serving guide as stipulated on the food label.

This is the primary item you will see in a food label.

The amount of servings stated in the food label refers to the quantity of food people usually consume. However, this does not necessarily mean that it reflects your very own amount of food intake.

Moreover, serving size determines the amount of nutrients that enters the body. This means that if you will follow strictly what the serving size is, you will obtain the same amount of nutrients according to the serving size that was given in the label.

For instance, if the serving size says one serving size is equal to 54 grams, that would mean you have to measure 54 grams and eat that and you have just eaten one serving. So to speak, the amount of nutrients stated in the food label is the same amount that has entered your body considering the fact that you have just eaten 54 grams.

However, if you have eaten everything, and the food label says that each pack is equivalent to 4 servings, you have to calculate the amount of nutrients that have entered your body. This means that if the food label says 250 calories per serving that means you have to multiply it to four to get the total amount of calories you have taken.

This refers to the list of available nutrients in a particular item. It is also where the nutritional claims of the product based on the recommended daily dietary allowance are stated. Usually, the nutritional amounts are based on both the 2,500-calorie diets and the 2,000 recommended dietary allowances.

In order to understand the numeric value of each item, you should know that the "% daily value" that the food label indicates is actually based on how a particular food corresponds to the recommended daily dietary allowance for a 2,000 calorie.

If in the event that you have purchased an item that has a dietary allowance different from the 2,000-calorie diet, you just have to divide the stipulated amount by 2,000 and you will be able to identify the "%daily value" for the nutrients.

This refers to the list of the ingredients that were used to manufacture the product. The listing is usually arranged from the main ingredients that have the greater amount by weight up to the smallest quantity. This simply means that the actual quantity of the food includes the biggest quantity of the main ingredient or the first item and the minimum amount of the very last ingredient.

This refers to the kinds of nutritional claims of a particular food item. For instance, if an item says it is sodium-free, it has less than 5 milligrams per serving or a low fat item actually contains 3 grams of fat or less.

Taking the time to read labels while you're running through the aisles at the grocery store may be hard, but the benefits to you and your family can be enormous. And once you find products that suit your taste and health buds, shopping will begin to hasten up again.

Reading the label is really the only way to know for sure what you are eating. Many food manufacturers will put marketing claims in bold in an effort to entice buyers such as 'high in%u2026', 'low fat'%u2026 and more. While their claims are often true, reading the label itself will give you a fuller picture of what the product really has to offer.

For instance, some products will claim they contain no trans fats in bold letters while ignoring other less healthy attributes like their sodium or saturated fat content. So you must read beyond the marketing.

Some marketing labels are tricky, as well. For example, a food product can label itself as 'natural' as long as it started as a natural product. A chicken can be labeled 'natural' even if it was raised using hormones and antibiotics. When a chicken is labeled 'all natural', it means that there are also no additives like hormones or antibiotics. So you can see how just knowing a few simple guidelines can make you a more informed shopper.

Low is a term used to describe many attributes like, low saturated fat, low fat, low cholesterol, low calorie and low sodium. While these foods are better than their higher fat or sodium content equivalents, low may not be low enough. To qualify as a low sodium product, the item must contain no more than 140 milligrams of sodium per serving. If you need to be on a low sodium diet, look at the labels of comparable items. You very well might find a similar product that doesn't tout low sodium, but has less than the 140 milligrams of other product.

Trans fats should be avoided at all costs. Saturated fats turn to cholesterol in your body, clogging arteries, so you want to minimize your intake.

Once you start reading food labels, you'll notice that lots of products that don't seem to require sugar contain sugar nevertheless. Pasta sauces vary widely in sugar content, for instance. Why buy one with lots of sugar when you don't have to? Remember more sugar means more calories.

Almost all nutritionists will agree that high fructose corn syrup in one of the biggest culprits in the nation's obesity crisis. Amore dense sugar syrup, high fructose corn syrup is an inexpensive ingredient for manufacturers. A single 12-ounce can of soda has as much as 13 teaspoons of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Even a low fat fruit flavored yoghurt can have a significant quantity of high fructose corn syrup.

The average daily intake of salt is recommended at less than 2300 mg per day for adults - less for children. If you buy a lot of prepared or frozen foods, canned soups or snack foods, your sodium intake could run very high.

You can begin to see that reading labels at the supermarket is more an imperative for good health than a take it or leave it proposition.

It might seem hard to find products that fit the bill for all of the above, but once you start reading, you'll find that good choices do remain.

And the more consumers reach for those good choices, the more change we'll see on those shelves.