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Hello Eid, the first thing to look out for is :
1) Look here for both the serving size (the amount for one serving), and the number of servings in the package.
2)Remember to check your portion size to the serving size listed on the label. If the label serving size is one cup, and you eat two cups, you are getting twice the calories, fat and other nutrients listed on the label.
Check Out the Total Calories and Fat
Find out how many calories are in a single serving and the number of calories from fat. It’s smart to cut back on calories and fat if you are watching your weight!
Let the Percent Daily Values Be Your Guide
Use percent Daily Values (DV) to help you evaluate how a particular food fits into your daily meal plan:
Daily Values are average levels of nutrients for a person eating 2,000 calories a day. A food item with a 5% DV means 5% of the amount of fat that a person consuming 2,000 calories a day would eat.
Remember: percent DV are for the entire day — not just for one meal or snack.
You may need more or less than 2,000 calories per day. For some nutrients you may need more or less than 100% DV.
The High and Low of Daily Values
5 percent or less is low -- try to aim low in total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium
20 percent or more is high -- try to aim high in vitamins, minerals and fiber
A set of rules that will help you to read and understand written on food labels:
Components are written article on food labels are graded, according to its relative share of the total product, in descending order. Therefore, the basic and most important element in the product will be the first, and so on ...
For example, if you bought a loaf of bread made from whole-wheat grains, you will notice that the "whole wheat" is a component of the first recorded on the label.
The amount of calories (Calories) registered on the address labels about mostly to the amount of 100 grams of the product. Therefore, in order to get the total calories in each package, you should hit the number on the weight of the product labels. In cases of canned food (corned), whose packaging contains a water well, you look at the weight of the product after the filter (net) and not the total weight. Attention to the amount of saturated fat recorded. The source of the fat, is one of the animals, mainly, but they exist in some plant sources as well, such as palm oil and coconut oil. Saturated fat consumption in large quantities leads to increased risk and the risk of heart disease and obesity. According to health organizations in the world, it is preferred that the food contains less than 10% saturated fat. So it is very important to check the amount of saturated fat in the product, and taking into account the quantity of the total daily consumption. Trans fats (Trans fats - also called vegetable fat, vegetable fat steel or in part), are produced in the food industry as an alternative to the saturated fat. Its source is the vegetable fats that are subject to the process of hardening to turn into solid fats at room temperature. Show that these harmful fat in the same amount of damage caused by saturated fats, and even more of them, so as to being a manufacturer, and increase the risk of heart disease and blood vessels, also contribute to raising the level of bad cholesterol (LDL) and reduce the level of good cholesterol (HDL), and increase the risk of diabetes and other diseases. It can be found in large quantities in margarine, and various snacks, cakes and desserts, frozen foods, popcorn and others. So refrained from foods that contain trans fats, vegetable, solid plant or plant part, solid eating. Salt / sodium - salt you eat contain sodium metal. Sodium is a vital element for the body, but large amounts of it can cause many damages such as high blood pressure. It recommends various ministries of health to consume no more than 6 grams of salt a day, and no more than 2.5 grams of sodium a day (a teaspoon of salt). To find out the amount of sodium in a given food, we have to look at the food composition table for the amount of sodium in food. Food that contains more than 400 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams, is rich in sodium, while considered foods that contain less than 100 milligrams of sodium low-sodium foods. Cholesterol - provides recommendation to consume no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol a day, so it is recommended to pay attention to the amount of cholesterol referred to on the poster. Low cholesterol foods are foods that contain 30 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams of food a maximum. Animal foods are the only source which contain cholesterol.
When you are buying low-fat milk products with additions next to it, you should pay attention to the amount of total fat in the product, as the product itself is low-fat often, while it does not apply to the add-ons that with him.
Terms on food labels:
Light lunch (Light) - contains fewer calories by about 1/3 of the normal parallel his product. Low-calorie drink - does not contain more than 20 calories per 100 ml of the drink. Diet low in calories - do not contain more than 40 calories per 100 grams of food. Low sodium diet - containing a quantity of sodium less than 25% of the normal parallel his food. Low-fat diet (fat) - does not contain more than 2 grams of fat per 100 grams of food. Low cholesterol diet - does not contain more than 30 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams of food. Diet free of cholesterol - containing up to 2.5 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams of food.
If you're trying to just find something to eat at the store, or you need to quickly compare products, Bellatti suggests looking at the ingredient list before the nutrition label. You want an ingredient list that's filled with real foods, not a bunch of words you've never heard of, a ton of parenthesis, or dyes. Bellatti adds:
The ingredient list matters most because you can technically create a food product that "hits all the right numbers" using highly processed, minimally nutritious ingredients. The point of healthy eating isn't to subsist on artificial sweeteners, corn-based fat replacers, or isolated fibers. In most cases, the shorter the ingredient list, the better. You want to look at the first three or four ingredients listed. A sprinkle of quinoa or flax in a cookie (if it shows up as, say, the thirteenth ingredient) is meaningless.
Reading the ingredient list also allows you to spot tricky claims. For example, food companies can legally advertise a product as containing "0 grams of trans fat per serving" even if partially hydrogenated oils (artificial trans fats) appear on the ingredient list, as long as each serving contains no more than 0.49 grams of trans fat.
The nice thing about ingredients lists is that they're listed in descending order by weight, so the first ingredient is the dominant one. This makes finding a tomato soup that's actually made out of tomatoes as simple as making sure the first ingredient listed is tomatoes.
Find the Serving Size
Once you have a handle on your ingredient list, it's time to take a look at the serving size. The serving size is often where you'll see a little bit of cheating on the label because a serving size will either be significantly smaller than what people actually eat, or it'll list multiple servings per container when most people eat the whole thing. Bellatti shares a few examples of this:
On the actual Nutrition Facts label, the first thing you want to look at is the serving size. Many times, serving sizes do not always reflect a typical human portion. For instance, most granola products show you nutrition information for a measly 1/4 cup serving. It's likely that you normally pour yourself 1/2 - 3/4 cup of granola, so you need to multiply all the values on that label accordingly. Also, many 20-ounce bottles of sugar-sweetened beverages still provide nutrition values for an 8-ounce serving (some are finally seeing the light and listing information for the entire 20-ounce bottle).
So, before you go thinking that Mac and Cheese isn't too horribly unhealthy, make sure you're not eating six servings at a time.
What You Can Ignore on the Nutrition Facts Label
The Nutrition Facts label is packed with a ton of information that's usually displayed in both percentage and weight. This is supposed to help you eat healthier and as this diagram from the FDA shows, it's made so that you can easily differentiate between good and bad nutrients. However, Bellatti points out that it's not that simple. In fact, you can actually ignore a lot of what you see on the label:
Don't give too much thought to fat grams. What is much more important is the type of fat you are eating. The fat in nuts, seeds, avocados, and coconuts is heart-healthy (plus, fat aids in achieving satiety — the feeling of fullness.) Certainly, a serving of "fatty" almonds is a much healthier choice than a serving of low-fat crackers made from refined flour.
Of course calories are important, but they have to be looked at within the context of the ingredient list and overall nutrition. A 175-calorie serving of sunflower seeds is, hands down, a better snack than a 100-calorie pack of Chips Ahoy crisps. When it comes to calories, think about quality first and foremost. "Calories from fat" adds absolutely no value to the Nutrition Facts label. Again, healthful foods like nuts and seeds get a large percentage of their calories from fat, while sugary cereals and candy get a very low percentage of their calories from fat.
Don't pay "Total carbohydrate" too much mind. The breakdown of those carbohydrates — sugar and fiber grams — is much more important.
Basically, as Bellatti points out, the Nutrition Facts label is often too oversimplified to use to eat healthy, and it makes it seem like certain nutrients (like fats) are worse than they are. This is why the ingredient list is more often your best ally in finding healthy foods at the store.
What to Actually Look For on Nutrition Facts Labels
Of course, the Nutrition Facts label still has a ton of useful information on it, and Bellatti suggests paying attention to a couple important parts of the label:
The average American is eating sugar by the boatload. Although the Nutrition Facts label doesn't differentiate between added sugar and naturally-occurring sugar (i.e.: lactose in milk, sugar in fruits), it's still important to look at sugar content (especially in foods that don't contain milk or whole fruits like dates or raisins). Keep in mind that fruit juice is pure sugar; don't be fooled by "fruit-juice sweetened" products.
Fiber is key. The average American only eats half of the daily fiber recommendation (25 grams). Make sure fiber grams are coming from whole food and not artificially bumped up with isolated fibers like inulin. Isolated fibers aren't "bad", but they don't offer the same health benefits as fiber from whole plant foods.
It's a pretty simple set of rules when it comes down to it. The main takeaway from Bellatti is to really look at the ingredient list more than anything else, and to remember that most of the best foods—fresh fruits and vegetables—don't usually have Nutrition Facts labels.
In each and every nutrition values are different from one product to another, so mainly we have to see the fat content and calories value in that particular because its play main role in human body.
Most important is to look for the serving size and the calories provided by the item.Eating too many calories per day is linked to overweight and obesity.
When reading a nutritional facts it is important for us to look for the trans fats of the food we eat. speacially to elder people, because trans fat is unhealthy and can cause too much cholesterol in our body which may lead to uncontrolable attacks.
Check for serving size and calories. It to know how much to consume.
CALORIE CONTENT-SO EFFECTIVE CHOICES CAN BE MADE
SUGAR CONTENT-PREVENTATIVE CARE IRO WEIGHT GAIN, FOOD ADDICTIONS, MOOD SWINGS, DIGESTIVE ISSUES ETC
FIBRE CONTENT-REGUATION OF BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS,AIDING WIEGHT LOSS ETC ETC
FAT CONTENT-MOSTLY ONE WOULD WANT MONOUNSATURATED FATS(NUTS,SEEDS, OLIVE OIL ETC),POLYUNSATURATED FATS(ACCEPTABLE BUT AVOID THOSE DERIVED FROM VEG SOURCES)TRANS-FATS TO BE AVOIDED
PROTEIN CONTENT-STRIVE FOR AT LEAST 5G OF PROTEIN IN EACH MEAL OR SNACK-STABLISES BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS,LOWERS GLYCEMIC INDEX OF FOODS AND CAN BOOST METABOLISM.
INGREDIENTS-MAKE SURE YOU ARE EATING WHOLE FOODS
SALT CONTENT-MAKE SURE THE CONTENT LEVEL NOT TOO EXCESSIVE IE SHOULD BE IDEALLY LESS THAN 200MG IN PROCESSED FOOD-SHOULD BE HIGH QUALITY SEA SALT,HIMALAYAN SALT ETC
total calories to control the total calories daily intake
the amount and type of fat content to decrease trans fatty acids and fat intake
sugar and salt content to avoid taking high amounts of them
allergies causes like gluten,peanut,nuts,milk
Better Start with the doses / Daily Values (DV)
- Take a good look of the amount that you need to take at a time or in a frequent interval
Check Out the Total Calories
- Find out how many calories are in a single serving. It's smart to cut back on calories if you are watching your weight.
Check out the Fat, Added Sugars and Sodium percentages
Eating less saturated fat, added sugars and sodium may help reduce your risk for chronic disease.
- Saturated fat and trans fat are linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
- Eating too much added sugar makes it difficult to meet nutrient needs within your calorie requirement.
- High levels of sodium can add up to high blood pressure.
- Remember to aim for low percentage DV ( daily Values) of these nutrients.
Check out whether the content mentioned Vitamins , Minerals and Fiber content
- Eat more fiber, potassium, vitamin D, calcium and iron to maintain good health and help reduce your risk of certain health problems such as osteoporosis and anemia.
- Choose more fruits and vegetables to get more of these nutrients.
- Remember to aim high for percentage DV of these nutrients.
And , also check out the total amount of Carbohydrate , Protein and sugar contents
