Tips for reading nutrition labels

People are more interested in living healthily than ever before and that includes attention to nutrition. Here are tips to help you read your food labels and how to apply them to your diet.

• Nutrition labelling became mandatory for all prepackaged foods in December of 2007.
• Nutrition labelling includes information about calories, core nutrients and the percentage daily value of these nutrients.
• It also must include an ingredients list and a nutrition facts table. When reading a food label, you will see information about these core nutrients.

• The nutrition facts table makes it easier to make smarter food choices by comparing two similar products to see which one is healthier. It also makes it easier to manage diets that have special needs, such as low sodium or low fat. Try to find foods with less than 5 percent of DV (Daily Value) of each of these.
• You can also find ways to increase or decrease the amount of each nutrient that you are consuming by taking note of how much is in each item.
• Making healthy food choices can ensure that you have a healthier lifestyle and reduce your risk of getting nutrition-related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.

• The 13 core nutrients on food labels are calories, fat, saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fibre, sugars, protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. Prepackaged products will list each of these with the percent of daily value that the product includes. For example, if a canned food contains 13 percent vitamin C, that means that each serving contains 13 percent of the suggested amount of Vitamin C you are supposed to consume each day.
• Remember that the table breaks down the nutrients by serving size, so if there are four servings in a can, you need only eat 1/4 of the can to consume the listed percent of daily value.
• Reading nutrition labels is important to ensure that you are aware of how many calories and what ingredients and nutrients you are consuming. Understanding how to read a food label is important because it enables you to make sure you are getting the proper nutrients in your diet and cutting out the excess sodium, fat, etc. that you don't need.