Simplifying Reading Nutrition Labels

General Rules:

• 20% means high or an excellent source of that nutrient
• 10% means moderate or a good source of that nutrient
• 5% means low

Interpretation:

• Sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol impact on your health.
• If the sodium content of a product is 20% per serving that is very high in salt.
• If you need to limit your intake of salt, saturated fat or trans fat look for food with less than 10% of any of these nutrients. If the values are 5% or less they would be your best choice.
• If you want foods with significant amount of fiber or calcium look for values 10% or better. However since it is rare that you will find food with 10% fiber then opt for at least 8%.

Caveats:

• When you are reading nutrition labels take note of the serving size first. The analysis is based on that portion of food. It may not be what you plan to eat. If you plan to eat 2 or more times the amount then multiply the nutrient value by the number of servings you want to consume.
• When reading the ingredient list look for the first 3-4 ingredients. They are listed in descending order of weight. The ones listed first contain the most. If salt, hydrogenated fat, or sugar is your concern make sure they are not listed in the first 4 ingredients. To avoid confusion count the ingredients that are outside the parentheses.
• When looking for high fiber breads or cereals choose those that list "whole grain" as the first ingredient.
• If you are concerned about sugar other names used for added sugars include corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey, and maple syrup.
• Since trans fat and saturated fat increase LDL (bad cholesterol) choose foods with the lowest combined amount of the two. "Partially hydrogenated fat" should not be listed in the 1st 4 ingredients.
• If you are a diabetic and you want to quickly assess how much bread exchange is in a serving a good estimate is for every 15 grams of carbohydrate listed it is equal to 1 carbohydrate serving. One carbohydrate serving is equivalent to a slice of bread or a small piece of fruit.

I hope this information will help you!