Take a Look at Nutrition Labels: You’ll Be Surprised to Learn What You’re Missing

The FDA has been trying for years to make nutrition labels food products easier to understand. Last year, the agency even started testing labels on the front of food products. Front of package labels would complement—not replace—the traditional nutrition facts labels, with the intention of helping people with less nutritional knowledge identify foods that would be part of a healthy eating pattern, the FDA said in a statement.

Eight years ago, FDA updated the labels to make them easier to read and, more to the point, more in line with current nutrition regulations. Government being what it is, it took some time to get the changes into print. But by July 2021, the updated labels began appearing on the majority of food products. While many consumers say they read the nutrition labels, some studies show only about 9 percent are actually reading them regularly. With Thanksgiving fast approaching, it is probably a good time for a refresher course on what you’ve been missing.

First up: Big bold letters for the words Nutrition Facts followed in smaller type by the number of servings in the package plus the amount in one serving which makes it easier to decide whether to take just one or indulge. The serving size comes in real terms (2 slice of bread) or a ratio (1/4 pizza). Either way it’s just USDA’s guess at what we typically consume.

“People routinely underestimate what a serving is,” says says Cleveland Clinic nutritionist Kayla Kopp, who suggests measuring or weighing yours to check. The results, she warns, may surprise you which matters because the information on the rest of the label is based on what’s defined as a serving. That includes the Percent Daily Value (% DV) for each nutrient. A 5% DV or lower is considered a low daily value; a 20% DV or above has a high daily value. Overall, the winners are a lower % DV for added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat and a higher % DV for fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

After servings come CALORIES in letters big and bold enough to scare off the unwary although the true purpose is to make it easy for you to stick to a sensible Goldilocks diet, not too much, not too little. For example, as a general rule, a food with 100 calories per serving is considered moderate; up that to 400, and it’s high-calorie country.

Moving on, you’re into specific nutrient territory starting with total fat and its important constituents, the saturated and trans fats that can clog your arteries. Ideally, sat fats should account for no more than 5% to 6% of your daily caloric intake. A gram of sat fat packs 9 calories, so to get a total just multiply the number of grams in the serving by 9. As for trans fats which are created when hydrogen is added to oils FDA banned them several years ago, but small amounts can still be found in some packaged foods.

Surprise: Cholesterol. Kopp says watching your sat fats is a better protector than tracking cholesterol but if the latter is your thing, it’s best to stay below 300 milligrams (mg) a day on the typical 2,000-calorie diet. As for sodium, which hides in canned soups, condiments, frozen meals and processed meats, the current rule is stick below 2,300 mg a day.

Carbs are complicated. The nutrition label measures both the good (dietary fiber) and the not so good (sugar), with recently added emphasis on added sugars in items ranging from processed white breads to salad dressings and cereals. The advice? Aim for no more than 48 grams (12 teaspoons) added sugar per day.

Last on the list: Muscle managing Protein. Kopp recommends says to 20 to 30 grams per meal, possibly higher if you’re recovering from an injury. But no stuffing: Too much of this good thing can trigger gastric and kidney problems.

After that a black line on the label heads separate lines for data for as many as 14 vitamins and minerals. The only ones required are calcium, vitamin D, and iron for bones and potassium for healthy blood pressure. Adding another 10 is voluntary.