It happens to the best of us. You pick up a banana muffin at your local coffee shop, take a quick glance at the wrapper, and see it has 225 calories. "Not so bad," you think. "I deserve a treat this afternoon." You happily munch away the muffin, washing it down with a virtuous nonfat latte.

But later, back at the office, just before you throw away the muffin wrapper, you give it a second glance and realize the serving size is set at a measly two ounces, and your treat contained three servings! That means you just ate 675 calories, not to mention 45 grams of fat!

Everyone can benefit from reading food labels, even if it's just to get a better idea of what we're putting into our bodies. Nutrition labels have come a long way since they first appeared in the 1970s, when the program was largely voluntary and labels contained little more than a list of ingredients. Today consumers can take a quick glance at the ubiquitous food label -- finally standardized in 1994 -- and obtain a precise reading of the calories, total fats, protein, carbohydrate, and nutrient content in most store-bought foods. On the downside, however, figuring out what all those numbers mean can get a little confusing. Here's what you need to know:

Start off by looking at the calories and the servings per container. How many servings are in the package you're buying? If your goal is to lose weight and you're buying a package of chips, ask yourself this: Am I going to eat this entire package in one sitting, or will I be satisfied divvying it up into smaller portions that can more easily fit into my 1,200-calorie diet?

"Serving sizes can be very confusing," says Sherri Shafer, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center and author of Diabetes Type 2: Complete Food Management Program. Frozen pot pie dinners, she points out, are often listed as two servings. "I can tell you if anyone tried to get the other half of my pot pie, they'd be in trouble," jokes Shafer.

Next, most people should look at the first section of the food label, which lists the nutrients most Americans get too much of -- fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Talk to your doctor about what nutrients you should be getting if you have a particular health condition, and focus on this section of the food label to make better choices. People hoping to ward off high cholesterol, a weight problem, or a heart condition, for example, should pay particular attention to saturated fats.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that average American adults consume fewer than 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day, and less than 200 if you already have high cholesterol or are at risk for heart disease. The AHA also recommends that adults get fewer than 2,400 mg of sodium in their daily diet.

Although fat used to be considered a dietary villain, there are good fats and bad fats. The "good," or unsaturated, fats are found in olive oil, fatty fishes like salmon, and walnuts. The "bad," or saturated, are found primarily in meat and dairy products. Experts recommend that no more than 30 percent of our daily calories come from fats, and that the artery-clogging saturated fats make up only 7 percent. In other words, people consuming about 2,000 calories a day shouldn't exceed around 65 grams of fat in total each day, and fewer than 15 grams of that should be saturated fats.

Since January 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required food producers to add trans fat grams to the food label. Trans fat, sometimes found in vegetable shortening, stick margarines, crackers, cookies, and snack foods fried in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, is as dangerous a dietary villain as saturated fats. The American Heart Association recommends limiting trans fat to less than 1 percent of the total calories you consume.

Trans fat gives your heart a double whammy, increasing your LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering your HDL, or "good" cholesterol. You can limit your trans fats by checking the label's ingredient list for foods that contain it, "hydrogenated," or "partially hydrogenated oils" as a major ingredient (these contain trans fats). Opt for foods with heart-healthy olive or canola oil instead.

People with diabetes and those following certain low-carb diets should pay attention to the Total Carbohydrate category on food labels. Eating carbohydrates, especially the simple carbs found in bread, rice, pasta, desserts, and candy, causes a spike in the body's blood sugar levels, something diabetics have to manage closely.

Today's low-carb diet craze has led many food manufacturers to tout their products as low in "net carbs" or "impact carbs" on the front of the package. Consumers should be warned, however, that these nutritional claims -- and the methods used to make "net carb" calculations -- have not been approved by the FDA or any government agency. Most companies selling such products determine "net" or "impact" carbs by subtracting the grams of fiber and sugar alcohols like glycerin and maltitol -- which they claim don't significantly affect blood sugar levels -- from the total carbohydrate grams. Sugar alcohols, also know as polyols, are used as sweeteners and bulking agents. They are found in plants such as fruits and berries, but provide half or a third of the calories as regular sugar.

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) has cautioned in its journal that many of these low-carb foods are still high in calories and fat. Furthermore, the ADA recommends that diabetics use a different method for adjusting carbohydrate content. Because sugar alcohols do partially affect blood sugar, the ADA advises subtracting only half the grams of sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrate count, and suggests that fiber grams should be subtracted only if the product contains more than 5 grams of fiber per serving.

Fiber grams are found under the Total Carbohydrate category. According to Institute of Medicine guidelines issued in 2005, men age 50 and under need 38 grams of fiber a day. Women age 50 and under should consume 25 grams (for adults over 50, the recommendation is 30 grams and 21 grams, respectively, because older people tend to eat less as they age. Foods high in fiber, including vegetables and whole grains, help ward off heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. If you're trying to lose weight, high-fiber foods are a good choice: They are generally low in calories and will expand in the stomach, making you feel more satisfied.

According to the Institute of Medicine, adults should get 10-35 percent of their calories from protein. Protein amounts are listed in grams on the food label, and appear directly above the list of vitamins and minerals.

At the bottom of the food label, you'll find a list of nutrients that most Americans tend not to get enough of: vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron, among others. People should be getting 700-900 mcg of vitamin A, 75-90 mg of vitamin C, and 8-18 mg of iron each day.

The amounts here aren't listed in grams or milligrams but rather as a percentage of the "Daily Values," or the portion of the government-recommended amount of that nutrient for adults. The daily values, both on the bottom section of this label above and in the second column of the top section, are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

That may be pretty far off from your daily caloric intake, but the percentages can nevertheless give you a general idea of how much of a good or bad nutrient a food is giving you. If your favorite macaroni-and-cheese dish provides 60 percent of the recommended daily value of saturated fat, you probably want to compare brands and find one that's more reasonable.

"A lot of people have trouble understanding what to do with the percent of daily values," says UCSF's Shaffer, who teaches nutrition classes at the medical center. "Most of the women I see are trying to lose weight, so they are consuming less than 2,000 calories. So I'll give their own goals in terms of calories, fat, sodium, cholesterol and carbohydrate."

For an individually tailored list of your recommended daily nutrient amounts, check out our Macronutrient Calculator and our Vitamin and Mineral Calculator.

One weakness of the 2,000-calorie reference for daily values is exemplified by the case of the often-overlooked nutrient calcium. The FDA's daily values percentage is based on consuming 1,000 mg of calcium per day, the government recommendation for most men and women. However, teens age 18 and under are supposed to get 1,300 mg, and adults 50 and over are supposed to get 1,200 mg a day. But don't fret; just remember that adolescents need to get 130 percent of the daily value and seniors need 120 percent.

Today, about 90 percent of processed food must contain an ingredients list and the nutritional information detailed above, a significant advance for consumers compared to just 30 years ago. Nevertheless, there are still some foods that aren't required to carry labels: Labeling on raw fruit, vegetables, fish, poultry, and meat is voluntary. Ready-to-eat items prepared on-site (such as deli and bakery items at the grocery store), and restaurant fare, which often sport super-size portions, also aren't labeled. Also not labeled are items produced by small businesses, coffee, tea, some spices, and packaged items that are too small to accommodate a food label.

In most cases, packaged foods will carry a phone number or address that you may write to for nutritional information. Some restaurant chains also have nutritional information available if you ask for it, and many fast-food companies offer such information on their Web sites. (Check out our Fast Food Fact Finder for more information.)

But even if you can't get the precise nutritional information on every food item you want to buy, remember: Reading food labels is just one step toward better health. The point is to become more familiar with the foods you're putting into your body. You just might find out that one food you're eating that you thought was pretty healthy is actually bad for you. One year, for example, topping the list of Nutrition Action's list of 10 foods you should try to stay away from was Quaker’s 100% Natural Oats & Honey Granola. What could be wrong with granola? Check the label and you’ll see that a half cup of this particular brand (without milk) packs 220 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 4 grams of saturated fat -- as much bad fat as a McDonald’s hamburger. Although the fiber in granola is good for you, you probably shouldn't make a habit of eating it.

Finally, the information on food labels may be difficult to monitor. For help, consult a few good nutrition books. The American Heart Association produces several volumes that can help you eat a low-fat or low-salt diet, and the American Diabetic Association produces a good volume that can help you count carbs.

-- Paige Bierma is a health and medical writer who has contributed to Hippocrates, Safety + Health magazine, and Vibe.

Further Resources

Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

Nutrition Action Healthletter

Produced by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Nutrition Action Healthletter contains lively, engaging articles on healthy eating. Includes guides to the amount of calories, fat, and sodium in foods at popular restaurant and fast-food chains.

References

First published June 22, 2004
Last updated November 30, 2007
Copyright © 2004 Consumer Health Interactive

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