How To Read a Nutrition Label

Every food product you purchase at the store has a nutrition label.  Many of the foods you get at restaurants also have accompanying nutrition information available online or at the restaurants.  As you are tracking your nutrition, you need to know exactly what you're putting into your body, and the best way to do that is to learn to read nutrition labels and evaluate them.  I'm going to cover the pieces that I focus on in depth and touch on what else is on there.

When I am tracking my nutrition, my main concerns are calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, sugar, and sodium.  You also have to pay attention to serving size and servings per container.  I don't focus on cholesterol since I don't have issues with that, but it may be important to some.  I also don't track the vitamins and minerals.  I know I get enough with my Shakeology and multi-vitamins.

Serving Size / Servings Per Container

The first thing you always see on the nutrition label is the serving size.  It's the most important piece of information because it is the basis of everything else on the label.  Each of the other nutrient facts is based on that serving size.  A serving for a granola bar may be 54g.  The servings per container though, may be 2.  That means that a single packaged granola bar might be 2 servings and you would have to double the count of nutrients if you are tracking.

Calories

Total calories and calories from fat are based on a single serving and are calculated from the other ingredients in the food.  When you are trying to lose weight, remember that a daily caloric deficit will allow ultimately lead to weight loss.  If you burn more calories than you take in, your body needs to use up some of what is already stored in your body for energy.

Total Fat

Total Fat, which can also be broken down into saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and trans fat, is important to watch.  Although there isn't necessarily a direct correlation, taking in too many fats will lead to too much fat on your body.  Per gram, fat contains more than twice the number of calories.  Saturated fats and trans fats are the biggest ones to watch out for.  They are the bad fats.  Also, watch out for fat-free foods.  To compensate for the lack of fat, many of these products substitute lots of sugar.

Sodium

The recommended daily limit for sodium is 2,300 milligrams.  Although I routinely have more than that, I do keep an eye on it.  Too much sodium can lead to elevated blood pressure as well as water retention.  If you are working out hard and drinking lots of water, I don't feel that you need to be as concerned about sodium, but I like to keep aware of it.

Total Carbohydrates

We all know what carbohydrates are by now.  This includes whole grains, fiber, sugar, and refined grains.  Carbs are generally a high percentage of what we eat on a daily basis.  Carbs are good for us, but try to stick to whole grains, get enough fiber, and stay away from processed carbs.

Sugar

Sugar, although a sub-category of total carbohydrates, is an important measure for me.  Types of sugar include glucose, dextrose, fructose, and galactose.  They provide very little nutritional value, so it helps me know what portion of my daily carbohydrates are coming from good sources vs less healthy options.  I do eat a fair amount of fruit, which does contain sugar, but it's naturally occurring sugar, which is a better option.  Sugar is added to lots of surprising foods like soups, dips, and "healthy" products like granola and yogurt to boost the flavor.

Protein

For an average person, about .5 g of protein is recommended per pound of body weight.  I personally shoot for at least 1g/day if not more.  I'm trying to build muscle and protein is muscle's building blocks.  Unless you're a vegetarian, you probably get enough protein on a daily basis.  But it you're looking at the P90x fat shredder plan, you probably need to get more than the average.

There are lots of other thing that may be on the label including potassium, cholesterol, and vitamins and minerals.  You have to evaluate your own situation to determine if these are important to you.  Finally, make sure you take a look at the ingredients.  The first ingredient is the most abundant ingredient and so on down the list.  Look for what you consider to be the key ingredients at the top of the list. The more ingredients, the more likely it is that it's not good for you.  The more words that you can't pronounce, the more likely it is that it's not good for you.  You should also scan for any non-standard allergens that it may include.

Hopefully you have a better handle on nutrition labels, what they include, what they tell you, and how to use it.  The nutrition labels are there for your information so...

Read Your Nutrition Labels!!!