How to Read a Nutrition Facts Label
Knowing how to read the nutrition facts label is important to be able to make healthier choices. Everyone has different goals whether it is to simply fuel you, provide energy, support fat loss, or muscle building you will need to eat properly. Use the information below to help you make healthier food choices.
Components of the Nutrition Facts Label:
Serving size
You will see the serving size and the amount of servings per container. EXAMPLE: a bag of chips are 120 calories, and there are 3 servings per bag. If you ate the entire bag then you consumed 360 calories.
Calories
According to the FDA, calories refer to how much energy you are getting from that specific food or beverage.
Daily Value
below 5% per serving is low
above 20% per serving is high
Click below to check out an interactive nutrition facts label
Some key things to look out for
Trans fat: Type of fat you want to avoid that leads to heart disease, and other medical conditions.
Sodium: Should be consumed in moderation. Keep in mind the serving size, and how much sodium you actually consume if you eat the entire bag of chips.
Added sugars: These are sugars or sweeteners added during the processing of this food. If you get some apple juice with a total amount sugar of 24 grams and it states included added sugar 21 grams. That means that only 6 grams of that juice is naturally sweetened.
Things you may want more of
Dietary fibers: Fiber is good to have in you diet, since they help your digestive health.
Protein: We want to have good amounts of protein due to its benefits with muscle recovery, lower our hunger levers and help us stay fuller longer.
The table above provides the daily value standards. These values were established based on a 2000 kcalorie diet. Your daily intake may vary based on your age, gender, height, weight, physical activity level and goals.
Watch the video below to see how to apply this information in real life. Reading the nutrition facts label can be a useful tool while grocery shopping.
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Calories: What’s in a number? - U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). https://www.fda.gov/media/135300/download
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.-a). Added sugars on the nutrition facts label. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/added-sugars-nutrition-facts-label
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.-a). Changes to the nutrition facts label. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/changes-nutrition-facts-label
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.-b). Daily Value on the nutrition facts label. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.-b). How to understand and use the nutrition facts label. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/how-understand-and-use-nutrition-facts-label
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.-c). The nutrition facts label. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/nutrition-facts-label
Whitney, E. (2022). Planning a Healthy Diet. In S. R. Rolfes (Ed.), Understanding Nutrition (16th ed.). essay, Cengage Learning.