Whether you're drinking smoothies to lose weight or to add nutrition to your daily diet, you probably want to know what's in the concoction you're drinking. Smoothies can provide you with a variety or essential vitamins and minerals, as well as carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Learning how to read smoothie nutrition labels can help you pick the best drinks to help you meet your dietary needs.
Step 1
Read the nutrition label on a smoothie, paying particular attention to the serving size. In order to accurately compare smoothies with one another, you need to compare them based on amounts. Smoothies that differ in serving size, even by just an ounce, provide you with different recommended daily allowances of nutrients. Pay attention to the number of servings per container on the label. You may think your smoothie is one serving, but the maker of the drink may have labeled it as two servings, perhaps to obscure the total number of calories you are drinking.
Step 2
Compare the amounts of nutrients in each smoothie. Nutrients listed by amount on a nutrition label include carbohydrates, fats, protein, sodium and cholesterol. Carbs, fats and protein amounts are listed in grams, whereas sodium and cholesterol are listed in milligrams. Fats are further classified according to type: saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans. Carbohydrates may be broken down into dietary fiber and sugar.
Step 3
Compare the percentages of recommended daily values for each nutrient in your smoothie. This information is listed under the % Daily Value column on the label. In addition to providing the daily values for carbs, fats, protein, sodium and cholesterol, nutrition labels provide this information for vitamins and minerals, such as calcium and iron. Compare the percentages based on a 2,000-calorie diet and a 2,500-calorie diet, choosing the one that is closer to your desired daily caloric intake.
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