Decoding the food label for Good Health

Are you unsure what you should be looking for on a food label? You're not alone. With so many different numbers, how could you know which ones to look at?

For good health, the most important things to look at on the food label are listed below:

1. Serving Size.  . This is the most important item on a food label because it tells you how much of the food equals one serving. This is key because all of the other nutrition information on a food label is listed for one serving of the product.  Therefore, if you eat two servings you need to multiply everything else by two.

2. Calories.  This tells you how many calories the product contains in one serving.  Calories are a unit of energy and every person needs a different amount depending on their age, gender, height, weight, activity level and goals.

3. Total Fat. As the name implies, this is a total of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated and trans fat in the product. It is recommended that no more than 30% of your total calories come from fat.

a. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the healthy fats.  Choose products that have more of this type of fat.  Unsaturated fats can actually help to improve your HDL cholesterol levels.

b. Saturated and trans fats are the “bad” types of fat.  Choose foods that are lower in these types of fat.  These fats can raise your total and LDL (bad) cholesterol.

4. Total Carbohydrates.  This is a total of sugar, fiber and other carbohydrates the food contains.  About 40-60% of your caloric intake should come from carbohydrates, but not all carbohydrates are created equal. Choose carbohydrates that are low in sugar and high in fiber.

5. Protein.  The amount of protein the product contains.  Protein is a building block for all of your cells.  Aim for about 15-20% of your total calories to come from protein.  Protein digests slowly and keeps you full longer.

6. Sodium. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1500-2300 mg of sodium per day.  Sodium can affect your blood pressure; if you are prone to high blood pressure always check the amount of sodium a food contains.

7. Vitamins and Minerals.  Choose foods with a variety of vitamins and minerals. It is more beneficial to get your vitamins and minerals from a variety of foods than it is from a pill.

Two additional things you will want to consider when reading a nutrition label are the percentage daily values and the ingredients list. Of the percentage daily values listed you will want to pay attention to the sodium, vitamins and minerals. The percentage daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. If you are not following a 2000 calorie diet than the additional daily percentages listed are not accurate for you and there is no need to focus them. When decoding the ingredients, you should remember the ingredients are listed in order of weight. Therefore, whatever is listed first is the most significant ingredient in that item.

Use these tips to help you decipher nutrition labels. Understanding the labels may health you make progress towardyour health goals.