The food label provides important nutrition information about the contents in the package.

You will often find a food label under the title "Nutrition Facts". The information included on the label can be helpful, but it can also be confusing. Research has shown that the two most confusing areas of the food label are serving size and servings per container. It's important to understand this information when trying to enjoy a nutritious diet and maintain a healthy weight.

In general, when you read Nutrition Facts labels, you should be looking for foods that are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals and low in sugar, sodium, cholesterol, and fats (especially saturated fat and trans fat).

Serving Size

This is perhaps the most important part of the food label. The serving size refers to the amount normally considered to be one serving. This can be much smaller than what is typically eaten at one time. The serving size on the package may be ½ cup, when you really eat 1 or more cups of that food. If this is the case, you are consuming at least twice the calories, fat, sugar, and sodium!

Servings Per Container

Always check the number of servings in a container. It is often more than one, even for something that seems like only one serving. If you finish the entire container, you will consume two to three times the number of calories, fat, sugar, and sodium.

Calories

A calorie is a unit of energy, and different foods contain different amounts of calories. The average person needs about 2,000 calories to have enough energy for the day, and extra calories are usually stored as body fat.

Calories from Fat

This tells how many of the food’s calories come from fat. The experts say you should only get about 30% of your daily calories from fat.

Total Fat

We need some fat in our diets, because it’s important for our skin and organs and a good source of energy. But too much fat can lead to weight gain and all the health problems that come with being overweight. Remember to check amounts and percentages of Saturated Fat and Trans Fat. These are types of fat than can be bad for you and lead to clogged arteries and heart problems, so look for small amounts and small percentages of these on most of your food labels.

Sodium

This lists the amount of salt in a given serving of food. Your body needs sodium in very small amounts, but too much can be unhealthy. Because sodium is added to many foods already, most of us get way more sodium than we need. Processed and packaged foods often contain large amounts of sodium. Aim to eat no more than 2,000 mg of salt per day.

Total Carbohydrates

Your body needs plenty of carbohydrates for energy. Smart choices to get carbohydrates would be from healthier sources, like whole wheat bread or pasta, without a bunch of fat and salt.

Dietary Fiber

It is particularly important to read labels when trying to eat a high fiber diet. What you will notice is that most (but not all) packaged foods are relatively low in fiber. Look for options that offer the most fiber.

Sugar

Look at your favorite items and you may find a surprisingly high amount of sugar in what you think of as “healthy” foods. If that is the case, compare labels and look for similar products that contain less sugar.

Protein

Protein is important to your body, especially muscles, and provides energy. Ten to 20% of your daily calories should come from protein.

Vitamins and Minerals (various amounts)

The bottom of the Nutrition Facts label lists some important vitamins and minerals that your body needs, and the percentages offered by this particular food.

Ingredient List

Reviewing the ingredient list is important, especially if you have food allergies. The ingredient list can also help you identify 'hidden' ingredients, like added sugars (bad), whole grains (good), and trans fats (bad).

In any list, the biggest ingredients must be listed at the top. Beware of foods that start out with sugars (like sugar, corn syrup, and sucrose), fats and oils (vegetable oil, soybean oil), and salt. If these ingredients appear early in the ingredient list, the food is probably not a good choice.

In many cases, the longer an ingredient list is, the less natural and good for you the food is. Look for foods that have a short ingredient list with natural-sounding ingredients. If the ingredients are nothing but chemical names a hundred letters long, the food might be one to skip.

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