Anatomy of a Nutrition Facts Label and How to Read One

The Nutrition Facts label is the black and white label that can be found on the back of packaged foods. These labels can be challenging to interpret, but you can learn how to read one.

The Nutrition Facts label is the black and white label that can be found on the back of packaged foods. Besides the bolded words “Nutrition Facts” at the top, though, these labels can be challenging to interpret.

The first section of the Nutrition Facts label concerns the servings of your food. This section describes the number of servings in the package and how large the servings are.

The serving sizes will have standard measurements to make cooking or grabbing a snack easier. The label often describes serving sizes in easily measured units like cups, tablespoons, or pieces. 

Even if you prefer the metric system, you’re in luck. The label also has serving size measurements in metric amounts like grams. 

An average, not a recommendation

The serving size is not a recommendation for how much food to eat. It’s a general measurement of how much a person typically eats of that food.

The rest of the statistics on the label are based on the serving size. If you watch what you eat, you may need to shrink the serving size for yourself based on the nutritional information about the typical serving size.

A calorie is a unit of energy. The calories in your food represent the energy you get in a single serving. 

In the recent update of the Nutrition Facts label, the calories section is bigger and bolder so that it’s easy to find. The calories listed reflect one serving, so keep that in mind as you plan your meal. 

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) uses a 2,000-calorie diet as the general amount most people should have. Your age, height, weight, sex, and average activity level, though, will ultimately determine how many calories you need daily.

The third section of the Nutrition Facts label is all about nutrients. It doesn’t list the amounts of every nutrient in your food, but rather, major nutrients that affect your health. 

Macronutrients

The three primary sources of calories are the macronutrients fat, carbohydrates, and protein. Unsaturated fats are healthier types of fat, dietary fiber is a healthy carbohydrate, and protein is also healthy in moderation. 

The exact percentages of macronutrients you need depend on your dietary needs and goals. Talk to your doctor about balancing your macronutrient intake. 

Calories from total fat aren’t the only thing included on the label because the type of fat is essential to consider, so the labels instead include the types of fats present. Unsaturated fat is beneficial, while large quantities of saturated and trans fats should usually be avoided.

Nutrients to cut back on

Added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium harm your health and should be limited in your diet. Eating excessive amounts of these nutrients increases your risk of common health conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

The % Daily Value

The % Daily Value (%DV) represents how much a serving of food contributes to your daily recommended amount of that nutrient. For example, a candy bar may contain 50% of how much sugar you should have in a day.

If a nutrient has less than 5% DV in a serving, it’s considered to be low in that nutrient. A large amount of that nutrient is more than 20%.

A high %DV of a “bad” nutrient doesn’t mean you can’t eat the food. You can, for instance, try a serving size smaller than what’s listed on the package depending on how much of that nutrient can be safely included in your diet. 

Always check the %DV before trusting the packaging on the front. Even if a food has labels like “low sodium” or “reduced fat,” check the Nutrition Facts label for the actual %DV of that nutrient.

Total vs. added sugars

Added sugars are sweeteners added to the food during production. Many foods contain added sugars for flavor, texture, or shelf life. 

Total sugars are the sum of all naturally occurring sugars (like those in fruit) and added sugars. The “added sugars” line is a recent addition to the Nutrition Facts label. You should always double-check the amounts of added sugar in your regular ingredients.

Vitamins and minerals

Below the nutrients section is a related section that lists vitamins and minerals. The vitamins and minerals you’ll typically see in these sections are:

• Vitamin D
• Calcium
• Iron
• Potassium

Calcium and iron

These two nutrients have consistently appeared on Nutrition Facts labels because Americans generally don’t get as much as they should. Food labels need to list iron and calcium so people can more easily increase their intake and prevent bone and blood disorders. 

Vitamin D and potassium

These two nutrients particularly need to be listed now because, like calcium and iron, Americans don’t get enough of them. This is unfortunate because a diet with vitamin D and potassium can lower the risk of bone disorders and high blood pressure.

Vitamins A and C

If you’ve read Nutrition Facts labels in the past, you may notice the current absence of vitamins A and C on many labels. This exclusion is because vitamin A and C deficiencies are now rare, so listing them is optional.

There are around 15 variations of the Nutrition Facts label. They each contain, at minimum, the information discussed so far, but they can vary in the following ways:

• The layout can be vertical or horizontal.
• The label can show statistics for a serving and the entire package in multiple columns.
• For packages with multiple products, the label can have a column for each product in the package.
• The label can voluntarily display statistics for nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are included in the product.
• The label may list the % DV for a particular age group, like infants or toddlers.
• The label can be condensed to fit on small packaging, featuring the nutrients as a continuous line across the label. 

It takes practice to be familiar with the Nutrition Facts label. Still, understanding each line is vital to your dietary health. 

Most Nutrition Facts for packaged foods are available online, so you can save time in the store by researching your favorite foods ahead of time. That way, you can use the Nutrition Facts to make healthy choices and an ideal meal plan.