Healthy Eating
Reading Nutrition Labels
Nutrition labels list the main ingredients in food you buy and how nutritious the foods are to eat. This information includes things like how much carbs, fats and protein are in the food, whether there are additives like extra sugar or salt, the size of a healthy serving, the total calories in each serving, and recommended daily amounts of nutrients contained in 1 serving of food. Ingredients are listed in order of their amounts, starting with the most and ending with the least. Sometimes when ingredients in food are in very small amounts, they aren’t listed on nutrition labels. Below, the meanings of words used on nutrition labels are explained.
Click the links to take an Interactive Nutrition Label Quiz, or see an Interactive Nutrition Label.
Nutrients
The core nutrients listed on labels make up the calories in food. These main nutrients include fats (trans fat and saturated fat), protein, sodium (salt), carbohydrates (starch, fibre and sugar), vitamins A and C, as well as Calcium and Iron. When trying to figure out whether a food item is healthy enough to eat, look at the daily percentages (% DV, or Daily Value) of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients contained in 1 serving of that food. If most of the calories come from nutrients your body needs, like protein, unsaturated fat, and vitamins, then you’re probably making a healthy choice. On the other hand, if the food is high in saturated fat, salt (sodium) and/or sugars, and low in nutrients that your body needs, then it isn’t a healthy choice.
Additives
Additives listed on nutrition labels are chemicals or other substances that are added to food to make it look better and/or last longer. Food additives can either make food healthier, like when iron or calcium is added, or make it less healthier, like when sugars, salts and/or fats are added.
Serving Size and Calories
All of the nutrition information listed on food labels is based on the serving sizes that are also listed on labels. Each nutrition label has a recommended serving size on it, as well as the amount of calories that are in that size serving. For example, a cereal box label that says: “serving: 1/3 cup (28 g), and calories: 50” means that 1/3 of a cup of that cereal is a healthy size serving to have and that 1/3 of a cup of that cereal has 50 calories in it. Remember, if you eat more than the recommended serving size listed on the label, say you eat twice the amount listed, then you’re also getting twice as many calories and daily recommended nutrients.
Daily Recommended Percentages of Nutrients
Percentages of nutrients on labels are also based on the listed serving size and on recommended daily amounts of nutrients. For example, if a label lists a serving size of 1/3 of a cup and lists “1% (percent)” beside the word fat, this means that when you eat 1/3 cup of that food you will be getting 1 percent of the fat that is recommended for adults to eat everyday. Remember that these percentages are the daily recommended percentages for adults, and not children. Visit serving sizes for children to get information about healthy servings at different ages.
What to Look For on Nutrition Labels
Important Facts on Fats
Look for foods low in saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol to help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke (5% DV or less is low, 20% DV or more is high). Most of the fats you eat should be polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats found mainly in vegetable oils, nuts and fish. Try to keep your total fat intake between 20% to 35%.
Remember that while reducing fat and saturated fat in your family's diet is important to keeping your heart healthy and reducing calories that “fat-free” or “reduced-fat” foods aren't always low in calories. In fact many foods labeled as “low fat” actually have just as many calories as regular food does because they are usually very high in sugar which increases calories. For this reason it’s important to be aware of misleading Nutrition claims on labels.
Important Facts on Sodium (Salt)
Research shows that eating less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium (about 1 tsp of salt) per day might reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Most of the sodium people eat comes from processed or packaged foods, and not from salt shakers, so pay attention to the amount of salt/sodium added to foods. Also, look for foods high in potassium (e.g., tomatoes, bananas, potatoes, and orange juice, etc.), because it counteracts some of sodium's negative effects on blood pressure.
Important Facts on Sugar
Since sugars are high in calories it is best to stay away from foods and beverages that have sugar added to them. Read the ingredient list and make sure that added sugars are not one of the first few ingredients. Some names for sugars added to food (caloric sweeteners) are fructose, sucrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, and maple syrup.
For more information on nutrition labels or nutrients in fresh foods that don’t have labels (like meat, fish, poultry, and fresh fruits and vegetables), visit the following websites:
BC Health Guide
http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthfiles/hfile59c.stm
Dietitians.ca
http://www.dietitians.ca/public/content/eat_well_live_well/english/eatracker/index.asp
Health Canada
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/choose-choix/fruit/index-eng.php
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/nutrition/cons/inl_main-eng.php
Sources:
Health Canada: Nutrition Facts Table: January 2003.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/nutrition/cons/inl_main-eng.php#1
Kids Health for Kids: Figuring Out Food Labels.
http://kidshealth.org/kid/nutrition/food/labels.html