How to read a nutrition label

There is so much info a nutrition label so how is the consumer suppose to figure out what it all means? 

We all know calories, sugar, sodium, and protein are pretty much what consumers care about but do you know what a calorie is? A calorie is the amount of heated need to raise the temperature of 1g of water by 1 degrees Celsius; so when we measure food calories we are basically measuring the amount of heat necessary to keep our bodies functioning when we are trying to maintain, gain, or lose weight. You might also see kcal (kilocalories) on a label and that means 1 kcal = 1000 small calories. Sometimes kcal gets shortened to calories.

Percent Daily Value (% DV) is another item on the label that can give you some valuable info. It tells you the % of each nutrient in a single serving. Why is this important to you? Say you wanted more fiber you would look for something that has a higher % fiber DV. Or perhaps, you are looking to for less fat intake, you might look at the % DV of the fat and see does that meet your requirement of less fat. 

A tip: you should pay attention to the serving size because often times you might eat the whole product before realizing that the label is only showing you the amount of calories and nutrients for a smaller amount or portion of the serving size. For example, you might be eating a whole bag of chips but serving size is 1/3 cup with 4 servings per bag.  

You might or might not see on the label calories per gram: 9g fat, 4g carbs, and 4g protein. All these values you can keep in mind when you deciding how much of a macronutrient (fat, carbs, protein) you are consuming. Remember, look for foods that give you nutrients and not empty calories like a soda would for example.

With ketogenic diet being a hot favorite right now, you can see how just a little bit of good fats (avocados, MCT oil, olive oil, nuts) can add up and give you more fat calories. The diets that are really popular are those with high protein and low carb and now by knowing that protein and carb have 4g calories per gram, you can see how you need to add or cut more to get the effect you want.

Disclaimer: this is an opinion post and should not be taken as an endorsement or lack of for any product by me or my employer.