How To Read A Package Ingredients Label

Here’s how to read and understand the package ingredients label on the side of food product boxes.

Learn How To Read Ingredient labels on food packages. It helps identify fat, sweeteners and additives you should avoid.

This Is About How To Read The Nutrition Facts Panel On Foods

A key part to any diet is understanding what is inside the foods and beverages we consume. On a daily basis, we either edify or toxify our organs and bodily fluids. You can know which is which after you learn how to read and understand the information on the Nutrition Facts Panel. It’s located on the side of every FDA approved food product sold in stores.

What’s In It For You

Contents of all food products in the USA must be printed on the consumer packaging in the Nutrition Facts label. Seeing this label lets you know that this is a product approved for human consumption by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration.) Fortified foods will have added nutrients in them. For example, milk is often fortified with vitamin D, in order to help the absorption of calcium from the milk Therefore, vitamin D will appear in the ingredients.

There are 3 main sections of a FDA Nutrition Facts panel. The non-nutrient content, nutritional information and the ingredients. Let’s familiarize you with these features that are so important to your diet.

Understanding The Nutritional Content With The Nutrition Facts Panel

Here are the sections of the Nutrition Facts Panel explained. This is the way the panel is formatted. It starts at the top with the serving size that was tested to obtain all the other data. Then it goes on to list fat, carbohydrate and fiber content in grams and percentages. Each in an ingredients label section. Finally, you will learn about the common ingredients that a food product has.

Non Nutritional Information

Serving size. This section of a nutrition label helps you determine the number of calories and amount of each nutrient in a recommended serving of a food. This is expressed in volume. Based on this quantity the contents are measured compared to the suggested daily intake for a percentage. When not applicable, it gives a weight in grams per serving. The FDA selected serving sizes are often smaller than you might eat. So read labels carefully. Know what is considered one serving.

Calories. This tells you how many calories are in one serving. Keep in mind that some packages can contain more than one serving. Like the ice cream pint that claims to have 4 servings when we know it’s more like 1 or 2. This is done to create the illusion of lower calories in the product.

Total fat. This number on a food label indicates how much fat is in a single serving of a food. This can be broken down into these subheadings, Saturated Fats, Trans Fat polyunsaturated Fat, and Monounsaturated Fat. All fats have 9 calories per gram.

(CLICK THIS -If you want me to explain the difference between the types of fat.)

Cholesterol. Vital for building hormones and cell membranes. Your body makes most of the cholesterol it needs. Cholesterol is listed under the fat information on a nutrition label.

Sodium. This is your salt content. Vital for healthy nerves and muscles, most of us get too much salt in our diet from over-processed products. A person can’t handle over 2,300 milligrams a day of salt without it interfering with chemical reactions required by the body. People who have hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease should limit sodium to under 1500 milligrams daily.

Total carbohydrate. This number on a food label indicates how many grams of carbohydrates are in a single serving of a food.
Carbohydrate. A sugar or starch that exist in grains, bread, fruits. vegetables, beans, or dairy. This is what a body uses as its main energy source. Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram.

Dietary fiber. The part of plant foods that we cannot digest. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds contain fiber. Soluble fiber is any dietary fiber that dissolves in water to form a gel. insoluble fiber does not dissolve as easily. You need at least 25 to 38 grams of fiber daily. To be considered high in fiber, a food must contain least 5 grams per serving.

Sugars. This section of the nutrition label lists added and natural sugars separately. Added sugars include sucrose, glucose, fructose, and corn and maple syrups. Natural sugars include lactose in milk and fructose in fruit. If you are concerned about your intake of sugar, be sure added sugars are not one of the first three items in a food’s ingredients list.

Protein. Proteins are the amino acids and other precursors required for the build up of cell structure.

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Nutrition Information

Next on the Nutrition Facts Panel, we have a listing of nutritional content values of any present vitamins and minerals. This is based on the recommended daily value expressed as a percentage or a gram weight. Food nutritional value is shown as percentage, based on a FDA’s recommended 2,000-calorie diet. This daily value gives you a frame of reference for comparing products.

List Of Ingredients

The last section of the Nutrition Facts Panel is the list of ingredients label section. At the bottom you will also find GMO disclosures and allergy alerts. Ingredients are listed by weight per serving. It goes from most to least amount.

Next Here Are Some Of The Words Used On Ingredients Labels

Acacia gum. A viscous substance from the spiny trees or shrubs of the genus Acacia, especially Acacia Senegal. It is used for thickening and smooth texture.
Alpha tocopherol. The most active form of vitamin E.
Ascorbic acid. Vitamin C.
Beta-carotene. An antioxidant plant compound that your body converts into vitamin A.
Cyanocobalamin. Vitamin B-12
Electrolytes. Minerals that dissolve in water and are capable of carrying electrical charges.
Enriched. As in, enriched wheat flour. Enriched foods have nutrients added to them to replace those lost during food processing. B vitamins, for example, are lost when wheat is processed into white flour, so these nutrients are later added back.
Extract. An additive containing the active compound(s) of organic plant material.
Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS.) Natural sugars that feed the beneficial bacteria of the large intestine.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS.) A potent, highly refined sugar that is often used instead of common sugar, especially in drinks.
Hydrogenated & Partially hydrogenated. Hydrogenation turns a liquid fat such as vegetable oil into a semi-solid, more shelf-stable fat, such as margarine. Most oils are only partially hydrogenated, which creates harmful trans fats that can raise cholesterol.
Lecithin. Added to chocolates, baking products, and cosmetics, lecithin is used as a thinner, a preservative, or an emulsifier. Egg yolks, soy beans, fish, and other foods naturally contain lecithin.
Malic acid. Found in some fruits, as an additive it adds tartness to a product’s flavor.
Modified food starch. They extract it from corn, potato, wheat, and other starches, modified food starch is used as a thickener, stabilizer, or fat replacement in foods like dessert mixes, dressings, and confections.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG.) Used as a flavor enhancer, MSG is like salt. Though some people may have a mild reaction after consuming MSG. They use of it to add saltiness without increasing the Sodium levels. MSG can trigger relapse for someone recovering from stimulant drug addiction.
Pantothenic acid. A key nutrient in the B-vitamin group.
Pectin. A water-soluble fiber found in the rinds of various plants. Used in food as a bulking or thickening agent.
Potassium. Essential for life, potassium helps maintain normal blood pressure and keeps your heart and kidneys working normally. Potassium is available in bananas, tree nuts, potatoes, and dairy. Adults should aim for 4,700 milligrams of potassium daily.
Probiotic content. The total live beneficial bacterial supplementing in a product. Common forms include lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.
Riboflavin. Vitamin B-2.
Thiamin. Vitamin B-1.
Whole grain. Whole grain foods include the bran, nutrient-rich germ, and endosperm of grains such as rice, oats or wheat. They have more fiber, vitamins, and minerals than processed white grains. Eating more whole grains reduces the risk of getting heart disease. A bit of whle grain bread around a meaty sandwich can be the most you could compromise with your Keto diet plan.