HOW TO READ FOOD LABELS WISELY

Sheryl Salis explains the importance of understanding food labels

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When you go grocery shopping, if you check, just about every packaged food available today has a food label indicating serving size and other nutritional information.

The “Nutrition Facts” food labels are intended to give you information about the specific packaged food in question. Measurements of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, protein, vitamins, and minerals are calculated for a “typical portion”. It is important that every time you are at the grocery store take out that extra minute to look at the food labels of the items you’re buying. Reading the label is the only way to know what you're eating. Below are some explanations of its components.

Serving size

It is important that you pay attention to the serving size, especially the number of servings in the package and compare it to how much you actually eat. The size of the serving on the food package influences all the nutrient amounts listed on the top part of the label. For example, if a packet has 4 servings and you eat half the packet, it means you have eaten two servings. You double the calories, fat, etc. that you have eaten.

Calories

Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get for the stated serving size. The number of servings you consume determines the number of calories you actually eat (your portion amount). If a packet has 2 servings of 250 calories each and you ate the entire packet that means you consumed two servings, or 500 calories.

Nutrients