Let’s be real, the majority of nutrition labels light up our eyes like a giant long run-on sentence filled with words we can not pronounce. But knowledge is power, and knowing how to read a nutrition label can empower you with the information necessary to optimally fuel your body (and potentially take advantage of an opportunity to impress said friend who always orders the quinoa salad). How to Read Nutrition Labels Like a Pro
Nutrition labels, they’re everywhere… On your cereal box, snack bars, or even the frozen pizza you’re trying to tell yourself is a healthy dinner. But can you read them? If not, don’t worry. Spoiler Alert: You will be reading Nutrition Labels like a BOSS by the time you finish reading this article….addContainerGap
Instead, get a snack of your choice (chips and nutrition reading can go hand in hand
What’s on a Nutrition Label?
A typical nutrition label will contain the following information:
- Serving size
- Calories
- Total fat
- Cholesterol
- Sodium
- Total carbohydrates
- Protein
- Vitamins and minerals
Now, that looks like a lot. Don’t panic! We’re going to break each one down so that you can journey this nutritionary minefield with ease How to Read Nutrition Labels Like a Pro
The Silent Trickster
The first thing you see on the label is the serving size. It’s easy to ignore this and think, “This package is only 200 calories.” But taking hold of your horses—that 200-calorie figure might only apply to one tiny part of the bag, not the entire thing! How to Read Nutrition Labels Like a Pro
An example. Picture yourself holding a bag of chips. The label on the bag, for any reason, reads “serving size: 1 ounce, service per container: 10”. What do you get when you eat half the bag? Just 200 calories? Wrong, it’s 1,000 calories! Smack. That’s how they get you with serving sizes. How to Read Nutrition Labels Like a Pro
Calories: The Heart of the Matter
We discover about gram calorie everywhere—whether it’s a diet plan impressive you to eat 1,200 calories or a burger place proudly proclaiming their triple burger has 1,000 calories How to Read Nutrition Labels Like a Pro
Calories happen to be a measure of the energy provided by a portion of food. You gain weight if you consume more calories than what your body requires. How to Read Nutrition Labels Like a Pro
Careless, you should think that a calorie is not just a calorie. A 100-calorie apple cannot be based on a 100-calorie soda. How to Read Nutrition Labels Like a Pro
Total Fat
Fat is important in our diets for energy, brain function and so much more. But not all fats are your friend. And, if we take a look at the Total Fat part, there are two import subcategories:
Saturated Fat and Trans Fat. Saturated fats: Present in things like butter, cheese, and fatty meats. Although some concentrated fat is good, the incorrect kind can raise your cholesterol.
Trans Fat: Trans fat is commonly present in unrefined foods such as cookies, crackers, and fried foods. A little will kill you, so avoid it at all reimbursement. where the label can be tricky: if a product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, it can legally say 0 grams on the label! So, be sure to check the component for the words “partially hydrogenated oils”—that’s code for trans fat. How to Read Nutrition Labels Like a Pro
Cholesterol :
Cholesterol is another word. Some people get anxious when they see it on the label. Your body needs it for making internal secretion, vitamin D, and digestion.
The key is moderation. Excess cholesterol — especially from animal products such as meat and cheese, but also in eggs—can increase your risk of heart disease. Eat not more than this amount of Cholesterol if you want to be fit, since the serving is indicated on some labels to contain it. Thus, one may wonder whether they should consume the entire thing at once when each serving has 100 mg of Cholesterol.
Sodium :
Fun fact: the majority of people also eat WAY too much sodium. It allows necessary chemical reactions to take place in every organ and it is particularly important when ingested acids and bases are not properly balanced; but too much salt connection eventually leads to high blood pressure, and hypernatremia and can worsen existing health problems
How much is too much?
The daily recommended limit is 2,300 mg (about 1 teaspoon of salt), but the average person consumes far more. When reading a label, aim for foods with low sodium (less than 140 mg per serving) to help keep your intake in check.
Pro tip: If you see a product that claims to be “low sodium,” always double-check the actual number on the label. Sometimes “low sodium” just means it has less than the regular version, but it might still be more than you should have.
Total Carbohydrates :
Total Carbohydrates section, Two important categories:
Dietary Fiber and Sugars.
- Fiber: You know, the good part. Fiber aids in digestion can decrease cholesterol and keeps you satiable for longer periods of time. Choose foods that have at least 5 grams of fiber.
- Sugars: Oh boy, sugars. That, however, is when it gets a bit tricky. There are sugars that are natural (the kind of sugar found within an apple or a banana) and then there are sugars such as those that follow, added to foods such as sweets and soda pop but also included in several refined foods. It is the added sugars that you are looking to avoid.
The American Heart Organization recommends limiting added sugars to 25 grams per day for women and 36 grams for men. So, if your cereal has 15 grams of sugar per service, that’s a strong clump of your daily limit!
Tip: The label will now list Added Sugars separately from natural sugars, so make sure to focus on that number.when it comes to added sugar.
Protein :
as protein is your body’s building block that assists in muscle repair, immune function, etc. The average adult requires 46-56 grams of protein in a day, based on age, sex, and general activity. You had the Arizona Dreaming till your heart was content, but at least you got upwards of 10g of protein to keep you full ( not satisfied).
Vitamins and Minerals :
All those may be located at the end of this nutritional information as standard vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium. The percentages are indicated by a sign of daily value (% DV).
For instance, if the calcium content is 20% DV it implies that twenty units of the amount needed in a day can be met by one serving. Foodstuffs having high nutrient density in these minerals will enhance good health.
How to Use %DV to Your Advantage
With a glance at the Daily Value (DV), you can easily tell your nutrient intake.
Quick cheat sheet:
- 5% or less means the nutrient is low in that food.
- 20% or more means the nutrient is high in that food.
If you’re difficult to cut back on sodium, concentrated fat, or sugar, look for foods with low %DV for these nutrients. If you want to boost your consumption of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, aim for foods with high %DV in those categories.
How to Spot Misleading Labels :
To the end-users, who are responsible for bringing up healthy life choices, it all appears like a joke. In fact, ‘all-natural’ does not equate to goodness. Even though what we call sucrose separately occurs naturally, it is still not advisable to have it in our mouths with a tablespoonful!
- All-natural: This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthy. Later on, sugar is natural, but that doesn’t mean you should eat it with a spoon!
- Reduced fat: This often means they’ve taken out fat and replaced it with sugar or salt to make it taste better.
- Multigrain: Sounds healthy, But unless it says “100% whole grain”, it may just be white flour with a sprinkling of other molecules thrown in.
Final Thoughts :
Even though it may sound like a cumbersome task at first, reading nutrition labels is all about the little practice that will help you turn into an expert within no time. It’s one way to have an upper hand and choose wisely. Your body will be grateful for this decision. Moreover, the next time you are in a supermarket, other customers will be amazed by how good you are at reading food labels.