Nutrition Facts

The label on the food that you eat is not just a sticker that is placed at the back just to attract customers. It is not part of their advertising strategy. Instead, it allows the consumers to know how healthy the food they are eating. Unfortunately, because of the great marketing techniques of these companies, people no longer pay attention to the nutrition facts or labels at the back of the food packaging.

By taking time to read the nutrition information panel, you would know how much calorie you are taking and if it could be beneficial to your current health condition. There is no need to consult a nutritionist or a health expert before eating the food or the supplement that you would take. Just by looking at the nutrition label, you would already know if the food is filled with nutrition that your body needs or it is just full of junk that would make you look fat or unhealthy.

The first thing that you would notice in a nutrition information panel is the Serving per Size (usually measured in cup). This is where the rest of nutrition information is based. The Serving per Cup is the amount of the product for every serving. It is also the amount of food that package has. Bear in mind that you must not depend on the information written at this part of the nutrition label if you want to know how many is a “one serving.” The manufacturers may be using a different scale depending on their products and the size of the product as well.

Afterwards, pay attention to the Calories and Calories from Fat. The calories tell you how much energy you can get from the food. Of course, the calorie intake varies depending on the lifestyle that you have. On the other hand, the calories from fat are the amount of the calories that you can get from the fats that are found in the food product.

Some food experts said that the % Daily Value indicated at the nutrition facts label must be ignored since it does not really give valuable information that is essential for your well-being.

You must pay attention to the other details like Cholesterol, Total Fat, and Sodium. If you are having health problems, consider cutting back on foods that are high in these nutrients especially those who have hypertension and other heart-related diseases.

Meanwhile, the amount of carbohydrates present in the food can be ignored unless you are really on a diet or you are trying to cut back on some carbs for the upcoming competition. Carbohydrates are essential part of a well-balanced meal especially if you are living a very busy and active lifestyle.

You must also take into consideration the amount of sugar present in the food especially if you have diabetes. Although there are different kinds of sugars used in food products (artificial sweeteners, fruit sugar, etc.), it would be healthy if you would eat foods that have less than 5 grams of sugar for every serving.

As for the other details such as the Vitamins A and C, Iron, and Calcium, these are the so called micro-nutrients that should have sufficient amount in your body. Large percentage of the said nutrients would not hurt especially if you don’t have supplements.