Nutrition Labels

When shopping, nutrition labels give you a lot of good information so that you can make a sound decision on what foods you should be buying. I will take each element of the label and break it down to give you a better understanding of what it all means.

Let's take the first element that appears at the top of the label. (Based on a 2000 Calorie Intake; for Adults and Children 4 or More Years of Age)

• SERVING SIZE - the serving size is what the numbers for the remaining elements are based on.
• SERVINGS PER CONTAINER - this let's you know how many servings you get out of that size container.
• CALORIES - This is important. This info allows you to plan your meals out in accordance with your total daily caloric intake amount. Find out what yours is by clicking here.
• SATURATED FAT - limit saturated fat intake to less than 7 % of your daily calories.
• TRANS FAT - limit trans fats to less then 1% of your daily calories.
• COLESTEROL - you should limit your coleserol intake to less than 300 mg per day.
• SODIUM - the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, recommends 1500 mg per day. The report set the maximum intake per day at 2300 milligrams but recommended not exceeding 1500 milligrams.
• CARBOHYDRATE - 300 grams per day.
• FIBER - 25 grams per day. If you want to loose weight it should be higher.
  
• SUGARS - no more than 40 grams per day. If you want to loose weight it should be lower.
  
• PROTEIN - 50 grams of protein per day.

The bottom of some labels, such as the one I have for this example, also show you the amount of grams based on a 2000 calorie or 2500 calorie diet.

The next installment I will post will be in regards to accessing your own personal daily caloric intake. It should be fun and I will have a new gadget for figuring out your calories. You'll love it!

Good health to you and make sure you READ THOSE LABELS!