Hi guys, Mary back to talk to you about the importance of properly reading a Nutrition Facts Label (NFL).
Many of you are familiar with what a NFL looks like, we are going to focus on the highlighted areas, but want to talk about some areas that are not highlighted.
Start off by looking at your serving size and servings per container. This information is going to be important because it dictates what information is noted below.
The areas (highlighted) in yellow, you are going to want to limit, pay attention to your trans-fats and sodium.
The area not highlighted, that I think is important is your total carbohydrates and sugar, on the newer labels you’re also going to see something called “added sugar”. Whether you are pre-diabetic, diabetic or following a low-carb lifestyle, you will want to start looking at total sugars.
You want to get enough of the nutrients on the bottom (blue highlight)
The pink column which tends to confuse a lot of folks is the % Daily Value – and these percentages are based on a 2000 calorie diet. This doesn’t mean they are recommending a 2000 calorie diet, and it doesn’t mean that’s what you’re having; it’s simply a reference guide to show you that if something is 5% or less it is considered low and 20% or more is considered high.
