How to Read and Understand Nutrition Labels

Many foods are marketed as “healthy”, “low fat” or “low sodium”, but sadly, these claims are often misleading. “90% fat free” still means that 10% of the product is fat. “10% less sodium” means nothing if the product started with 60% too much salt.

If you want to make sure that you are eating healthily, you need to start reading the nutrition labels on the products you buy. It can be daunting at first, so here is a quick guide explaining how to read and understand nutrition labels.

1. Start with the “serving size” and “servings per container” at the top of the label. You need to work out how many servings you intend to eat. 5 grams of fat per serving might not seem too bad, but if you are going to eat 10 servings… You get my point.

2. Next up, check the calorie content. This is given per serving so don’t forget to multiply calorie content by the number of servings you are going to eat. Bear in mind that, on average, women need about 2,000 calories per day and men need about 2,500. It’s not a good idea to get half of your daily allowance from chocolate!

3. Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, the general guide is that 40 calories per serving is low, 100 calories is moderate and 400 calories or more is high.

4. Next you should look at the nutrients that you need to limit i.e. fat, cholesterol and sodium. For each of these the label will give you a total amount per serving (in grams or milligrams) and a % of the recommended daily value (DV).

5. % DV shows the amount of a particular nutrient in one serving of food as a percentage of the recommended total intake of that nutrient for a whole day.

6. When looking at % DV, as a general rule, 5% or less is low and 20% or more is high (but remember that the label provides a DV based on a 2,000 calorie diet).

7. In relation to fat, cholesterol and sodium, the DV is something you should aim to eat less than.

8. Products with half a gram of trans fat or less can still promote themselves as trans-fat-free. If you want to be sure, check the ingredient list. If you see partially hydrogenated [oil] on the list, you know the food contains trans fats.

9. Try to eat foods that are low in saturated fats and trans fat.

10. The next thing to focus on is the nutrients that you should fill up on i.e. dietary fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron.

11. With fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron, the DV is the minimum amount you should eat each day.

12. In relation to sugars, there will be a total amount in grams but no % DV. That is because no recommendations have been established for the total amount to eat in a day. To stay healthy, try to keep your sugar intake as low as possible (it’s useful to remember that 4 to 5 grams of sugar is equivalent of one level teaspoon).

13. As for protein, unless the food claims to be high in protein, there will be no % DV. The reason? Current scientific evidence suggests that protein intake is not a public health concern for people over the age of 4.

14. When comparing the label of one food to another, make sure the serving size is the same on each.

15. Use the % DV to help you work out whether “reduced fat” or other ‘health’ claims are accurate. Remember that 20% or more is high, 5% or less is low. And compare the % DV for total fat with other food labels to see which food has more or less fat.

16. If you really fancy a slice of your favorite cake, just use the %DV to do a dietary trade-off with the rest of the food you consume that day to make sure you don’t eat too many calories, or too much fat, cholesterol and salt.