How can knowing how to read a food label help us make healthy food choices?
Food labels are tools that can help you make healthy food choices. They are required to be on most foods by the Food and Drug Administration so that people are aware as to what is in their food.
Food labels can help you:
Choose foods that are low in fat, sugar and salt
Compare the nutrient content of food
Identify recommended serving sizes
Identify calories per serving
Use the website, http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html to get detailed information on how to read a food label.
How to read and understand a food label:
1.) Start with serving size- this is the recommended serving of the food, and how many servings are in the container. This helps you limit your food intake.
2.)Check how many calories are in each serving. If you plan on eating more than one serving, you need to multiply those calories by the amount of servings you eat.
** 40 calories is low
** 100 calories is moderate
** 400 calories is high
3.) Look at the nutrients you should limit. You should limit fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
4.) Understand the daily values. These are shown as percentages. The number represents what percentage of your daily intake of a nutrient each serving has. For example, one serving of mac and cheese has 20% of your recommended sodium intake for the day. If you eat two servings, you have eaten 40% of your daily sodium intake. The rest of what you eat for the day should only amount to 60% in order to stay within a healthy range.
** 5% is low
** 20% is high
5.) Look at the nutrients you should be getting enough of. These include vitamins, minerals and fiber.
6.) REmember that these recommendations are based on a 2000 calorie diet. If you require more than 2000 calories, you would need to adjust your percentages of the daily values.
Take the food label quiz at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/flquiz1.html