Reading and understanding food labels is essential to eating a healthy diet. The label on food packages provides necessary information about the nutritional value of the enclosed food and about its potentially harmful ingredients and compounds. Among other things, food labels indicate both the types and the quantities of fat in a product. As MayoClinic.com explains, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are healthy in moderation, while saturated and trans fats are unhealthy and should be strictly limited or avoided altogether. The label also indicates how much of a day's recommended intake of fats and calories from fat the food provides.
Step 1
Note the serving size at the top of the food label. Remember that the fat content indicated on the label reflects the amount of fat in just one serving, not in the entire product. Multiply the fat content quantities by the number of servings you consume when having more than one.
Step 2
Locate the calories contained in one serving, found beneath the serving size specifications. Look to the right of this number to find the calories from fat. Get about one-third of your total calories for a day from fat.
Step 3
Look below the caloric information to find data on the total fat content of the product, which specifies in grams the total amount of all fats contained in one serving. Keep reading, though, as this number is fairly irrelevant because it includes healthy and unhealthy fats.
Step 4
Identify the quantity of saturated fat in one serving, listed directly beneath the total fat. Check how much of a day's recommended intake one serving of the food provides by reading the percent daily value to the right. Aim to get no more than 10 percent of your day's calories from saturated fat, advises the Nemours Foundation.
Step 5
Read the quantity of trans fat in one serving of the product, which appears below the saturated fat content. Note that no percent daily value is indicated, because it is not recommended that any trans fat be consumed. Avoid foods with trans fat.
Step 6
Check the next lines for the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat content to identify the quantity of healthy fats in the product. Eat foods with total fat content made up completely or mostly of these fats.
Tips and Warnings
- The section of the food label that lists fat content is designated for nutrients that should be limited in the diet. Find cholesterol and sodium content listed beneath the fat contents. Fats are an important source of energy, providing twice as much as carbohydrates or protein, as the Nemours Foundation explains. In addition, they help the body transport and store vitamins A, D, E and K.
- A diet high in saturated and trans fats increases LDL, or bad cholesterol levels, and the risk of heart disease and other serious health problems.
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