Since 1990, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has required that food manufacturers include nutritional information on package labels. The labels organize information about the nutrients contained in food in an easy-to-read format standardized for all food products. Because all food nutrition labels must follow the same format, it's easy to read the label and find the information you need, whether you want to know a food's calorie count, the amount of fat it contains or the percentage of Vitamin C it supplies.
Step 1
Locate the nutrition label. The label may be printed on the side, back or bottom of the food package. You may need to lift a flap on some packages to read the entire label.
Step 2
Note the serving size and the number of servings per package. Compare this to the amount of the product you typically consume. The nutrition information on the label tells you the nutritional value of one serving. If the nutrition label says the package contains two servings and you eat the entire package, you should double the figures stated on the label
to determine the nutritional values of the amount you consumed.
Step 3
Find the calories per serving. This figure is located in the upper left corner of the nutrition label. The FDA considers any food with 40 calories or less per serving to be low calorie. Foods that deliver between 41 and 100 calories per serving are moderate calorie foods, while foods that pack 400 or more calories per serving are high-calorie foods.
Step 4
Scan the column beneath the calories per serving figure to determine the amount of fat in the food. Compare the calories from fat to total calories to determine the fat percentage of the food and the kind of fat--saturated, unsaturated or trans fats. The FDA recommends you limit consumption of saturated fat and trans fat, as these can contribute to high cholesterol and heart disease.
Step 5
Move down the scale to sodium. Some people need to limit sodium in their diet. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends you consume no more than 2.4 grams of sodium per day.
Step 6
Study the next grouping of nutrients, which includes fiber, vitamins and minerals. According to the FDA, most people don't get enough of these nutrients. The nutritional label will tell you how much important vitamins and minerals the food supplies.
Tips and Warnings
- The percent recommended daily allowances given on nutritional labels are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. If you consume more than this per day, you'll need to adjust these percentages.
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