"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art." - François de La Rochefoucauld
One tool that we have to help us eat a well-balanced meal and make healthy choices are nutrition labels. Nutrition facts labels became mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1990, as part of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA). This required food manufacturers to include information, such as serving size, calories per serving, the amounts of major macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats), vitamins, and mineral elements, and provide an ingredient list. In 2006, listing the amount of trans fats in food products was added as an additional requirement. They have quite a bit of information on them, but knowing where to look and what the information means will help you interpret these labels faster to make healthier choices. You can also expect some changes, as the labels have undergone a recent face-lift and new requirements are expected to take full effect in 2020. Since you are likely to see both types of labels, we will go over both the old and new and how to use them to make healthier choices.
Interpreting the Label
The nutrition facts label we’ve all come to love and know since the mid-90s. So many numbers, right? Let’s examine the important information and how we can use it. Of course, these are being phased out, so you may start to see this format less frequently. It is expected to be completely replaced by 2020.
Serving Size
Seems straight forward enough, right? It tells you how much one serving is, usually in volume (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, etc.) and weight in grams. This can be helpful if you are measuring out servings either with measuring cups or a scale. But what can be confusing with this label is that so-called “single serving” packages would contain more than one serving. This is why it is important to pay attention to the number of servings per container.
Calories
The important thing to note here is the bolded phrase at the top: Amount Per Serving. If you consume the equivalent of two serving sizes then you need to multiply this number by two. It also tells you the number of calories that come from fat directly. This really represents the fear of fat in the 90s, where “fat-free” foods were heavily marketed, ignoring the fact that there are good fats and that there were increased amounts of sodium and added sugars make up for the loss of flavor.
Macronutrients
This is where the meat of the nutrition label can be found. Once you’ve examined the serving size and number of calories, it’s time to really take a look at what this product will provide you. Again, it is important to remember that this is per serving, so multiple or divide accordingly. The percentages on the right represent the percent of the recommended daily values. These values are based on a diet of 2,000 calories. The recommended values are presented at the bottom of the label and include a 2,000-calorie diet and a 2,500-calorie diet. Now, not all labels have this break-down, but they are based off of a diet containing 30% of calories from fat, 60% from carbs, and 10% from proteins. If you like math, you can calculate this from any label, which I will explain next. If you don’t like math, skip the next paragraph.
By simply using the rule that carbs and proteins have 4 calories per gram and fats have 9 calories per gram. For instance, one serving here has 8 grams of fat, which which is equivalent to 72 calories (9 calories/gram x 8 grams). Since this label tells you that 72 calories (8 grams of fat) is 12% of your daily value, you can take 72 calories divided by 0.12 (12 %), which equals 600 calories. That works out to be 600 calories divided by 2,000 calories is 0.3 (30%). The same method can be used for carbohydrates, which leaves you with 1,200 calories (60% of a 2,000-calorie diet).
Now obviously you may not be following the same diet plan. You may be consuming a 2,200-calorie diet daily with 50% carbohydrates (1,100 calories, 275g), 20% fats (440 calories, 49g), and 30% protein (660 calories, 165g), in which case the percent of daily values will not be applicable to you. Per the above daily diet, the total fat in one serving would represent about 16% of the daily value, and carbs would represent 13%. This showcases the importance of looking at the grams as the percentages may not apply to your specific diet goals.
Total Fat
Taking a look at the total fat, we know from our discussion on fats that they are not all created equally and thus we must be smart about what fats we are consuming and avoiding. We are given the number of grams of total fat and then the total number of saturated and trans fats. In the example above, in every 2/3-cup serving there are 8 grams of total fat. One gram of those are saturated fats and it does not contain any trans fats. That means the other 7 grams or 88% are unsaturated fats. Some labels will go further to show you the amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats per serving, but this is not required. However, the important thing is to find foods that are low in saturated and trans fats.
Cholesterol
This one is pretty straight forward. It provides the milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per serving, and the percentage of the recommended daily intake of 300mg per day. While this is the recommended value for the average adult, if you are trying to cut back on your cholesterol intake, then the percentage will need to be adjusted accordingly.
Sodium
Salt. While I can’t argue that with the fact that it does make food delicious, it is still recommended to limit your salt intake. Ideally, you should look for foods that have less than 140mg per serving. The recommended daily value that the percentage is based on is 2,400mg per day. Your doctor may recommended lower daily goals if you have high blood pressure or heart failure.
Total Carbohydrate
Total carbohydrates represents the total of all carbohydrates in one serving. This includes complex carbohydrates and starches, simple sugars, and fiber. Since fiber is not digested, the number of grams of fibers can be subtracted from the total carbohydrates to tell you how many carbohydrates represents those that will be digested, including simple sugars and complex carbs. The amount of sugar represents simple sugars that are found naturally in foods, such as lactose in milk or fructose in fruit, but also added sugars that are used in packaged foods to enhance their flavor. If you are looking to decrease your sugar intake, a goal of no more than 4 grams of sugars per serving is a good general rule. By subtracting the grams of sugars and fiber from the total carbohydrates we are able to calculate the grams of complex carbs and starches in one serving. Again, the percent of daily value is based on daily intake of 60% calories from carbohydrates in a 2,000-calories daily diet. This will change depending on your diet goals. The same can be said for fiber, which will change depending on your daily goals.
Protein
Protein generally only provides the number of grams per serving. The percent of daily value is only required if the packaging makes claims of the health effects of protein or states that the product has a high or low amount of protein. Because the daily values of fat (30%) and carbs (60%) are know, the remaining 10% of macronutrients represent 50g of protein. Of course, this percent and number of grams will vary depending on your personal goals.
Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamins and minerals that are required to be listed are vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Other nutrients can be listed if the manufacturer chooses and are only required if they are added or the packaging makes claims about health effects or that the product has high or low levels. As you can see here, there are no measurements provided, but rather simply percentages. These percentages represent the percent in one serving of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). Foods can generally be considered a good source of something if their percent is greater than 10-20% of the RDA.
Ingredient List
Don’t forget the ingredient list. It isn’t technically considered part of the nutrition facts label, but still just as important to know how to read. The ingredients are listed in the order of their weight from highest to lowest. This means those ingredients at the beginning of the list are going to be those that make up most of the products weight, whereas those at the end are going to be more minor ingredients by weight. It is written using common names as opposed to scientific names. Finally, it also notes any common allergens contained in the product, such as wheat, milk, or peanuts.
A New Era of Labels
After more than 20 years, manufacturers are being required to adopt new nutrition facts labels. These updates were made to make it easier to read and provide improved information that is better in line with our current understanding of healthy nutrition. These are expected to take effect by 2020.
Serving Size
First thing you’ll notice is that the serving size has been bolded, making it much more apparent to consumers. But probably most importantly is that the serving size has been changed for many food products to reflect what people actually eat. For instance, a 20-ounce bottle of soda could have claimed a serving to be 8 ounces, so the servings per container would be 2.5. However, the calories listed would only reflect the amount in a single serving, 2/5 of the entire bottle. This did not reflect what people typically drink when they have a 20-ounce bottle of soda. Therefore serving sizes have been changed to reflect what people actually consume or provide both information for a single serving and for the entire container.
Calories
Probably the most prominent change that people will notice is the increased size of the calories per serving. Not only is it significantly larger than previous labels, but it is also bolded. You may also notice that Calories from Fat has been removed. This omission was due to the idea that it isn’t so much how much fat, but what type of fat that matters most.
Macronutrients
Some obvious changes are seen with the change of Sugars to Total Sugars with the addition of Added Sugars. But another change that is not as obvious is reflected in the percent of daily value. You may notice that comparing the old and new label, they both have 8g of total fat and 37g of total carbohydrate. However, upon further inspection, you’ll notice that the percent daily value is different. This reflects changes in the recommended daily values based on updated evidence. Total fat has changed from 30% to 36% of daily caloric intake. Carbohydrates have decreased from 60% to 57%, and proteins decreased from 10% to 7% (37g). The percent daily values on the new labels represent the upper limit, so consumers should aim to consume no more than that daily limit. Again, these are just guidelines and your goals may vary. Generally though, a percent less than 5% represents a low is considered low and over 20% is considered high.
Total Fat
No real changes here other than the change to the recommended daily value from 30% to 36% (80g). The goal for saturated fat still remains to limit as much as possible with a goal of less than 10% of your daily caloric intake.
Cholesterol
The main change here is a decrease in the recommended daily value from less than 300mg to less than 250mg per day.
Sodium
The recommended daily value of sodium decreased from 2,400mg to less than 2,300mg per day.
Total Carbohydrate
Major changes here have to do with the recommended daily value of carbohydrates decreasing from 60% to 56%, though as we’ve discussed this may be different for you. Fiber has also undergone an increase, from recommended daily value of 25g to 28g. The addition of Added Sugars is meant to let consumers know when sugars have been added during processing or packaging. This does include free sugar (such as a bag of table sugar), sugars from syrups and honey, and those from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices in excess of what might find from the same volume of 100% fruit or vegetable juice of the same type. It is recommended that no more than 10% of daily caloric intake come from the added sugars.
There was some concern by honey and maple syrup producers as well as producers of some cranberry products that this change would mislead consumers to believe that sugars were added to their honey, maple syrup, or cranberry products. The FDA agreed to place a † symbol with this label value with more information to inform consumers that no additional sugar was added to the honey or maple syrup in excess of what you would find the natural product. Because cranberries are a naturally tart fruit, adding sugar to bring them to the same total sugar level of comparable fruit products has been a common practice, and producers were concerned that consumers would believe they were less healthy than other fruit products with comparable amounts of total sugars that could be labeled as “no added sugars” because of naturally occurring sugars.
Protein
Again, protein still does not have a percent associated with it, however by taking the percentage of calories coming from fat and carbohydrates, it can be calculated that the recommended daily amount has decreased from 10% to 7%. This represents about 37g of protein daily in a 2,000-calorie daily diet.
Vitamins & Minerals
Goodbye are the days of vitamin A and vitamin C on our food labels. These were removed as deficiencies in these vitamins are rare nowadays. Vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium have been added as many do not get the recommended daily amount of these nutrients. It is recommended that people consume 100% of these daily values. It was also required to add the actual amount of these found in each servings, whereas on the prior label just the percent was required. Recommended daily values are as follows:
- Vitamin D – 20 mcg or 800 IU
- Calcium – 1,300 mg
- Iron – 18 mg
- Potassium – 4,700 mg
Ingredient List
No changes have been made to the ingredient list.
