Read Food Labels for a Healthier Diet
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2003-03-10 14:01:33
Do you read the cereal box at breakfast? If so, you've probably seen the food label.
Most packaged foods you buy at the grocery store have a food label. They tell you a lot about the food you eat — like what is a serving size, how many calories and how much salt, sugar, fat, cholesterol, vitamins, and minerals you're getting.
Making a habit of reading food labels can help you have a healthier diet. It also can help you lose extra pounds or keep a healthy weight. So the next time you're dashing down the food aisles tossing groceries into your cart, slow down and pay attention to what you're buying. Once you know what to look for, reading food labels will take very little extra time. And it will be time well spent.
Here's what to look for on food labels:
Serving Size
Serving size is one of the first things you'll want to check on the food label. That's because all the information that follows is based on it. You'll find the serving size at the top of the box labeled "Nutrition Facts." It's also important to check under the serving size to see how many servings are included.
If you're reading a label on a one-cup container of yogurt, but the listed serving size is ½ cup, you'll have to double all the numbers if you eat the whole cup. For instance, if the label lists a serving at 100 calories and you eat the whole cup of yogurt, you ate 200 calories. It's easy to overlook extra calories by not checking the serving size.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information is follows the serving size and calorie information. It lists things you want to limit in your diet, like salt, sugar, fat, and cholesterol. It also lists those things you want to get enough of, like fiber, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium and iron.
The food label not only tells you how much of a substance the food contains but how much that is of the total amount you should have in a day. You'll find this amount under "% Daily Value." (The Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.) A cup of yogurt with 8 grams of protein and 16 percent Daily Value gives you 16 percent of the protein you should eat each day.
Ingredients
To see what your food is made with, look outside the "Nutrition Facts" box at the list of ingredients. They are listed in order, from greatest to least amount used. You know you're buying a sugary cereal if sugar is the first or second item on the list.
You also should check how many ingredients are on the label. Sometimes, the fewer ingredients the better, especially if there are a lot of unhealthy extras. For instance, buying applesauce made with only apples and water is a healthier choice than applesauce with apples, water, sugar, corn syrup, and chemicals that keep it from spoiling.
Buzz Words
You might find words on your food labels like low-fat, non-fat, low-sodium, high-fiber, fat-free, or light. The nutrition facts should support these claims. For instance, low-fat foods must contain less than three grams of fat per serving. "Light" foods must have a third fewer calories than the regular version.
Here are some other terms defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:
- low-saturated fat: one gram (g) or less per serving
- low-sodium: 140 milligrams (mg) or less per serving
- very low sodium: 35 milligrams or less per serving
- low-cholesterol: 20 milligrams or less and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving
- low-calorie: 40 calories or less per serving
Remember that "fat-free," "low-fat," and "low-sugar" don't always mean low calories. Read your food labels carefully to make sure you know what you're getting. In no time at all, you'll be making wiser food choices every time you shop.
AARP Resources
Eating Right
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Planning Simple, Healthy Meals
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Healthy Snacking
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Additional Resources
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Take a quiz to test your knowledge of food labels and find lots more information.
Mayo Clinic
Learn more about "making sense of the numbers" on food labels.
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