Understanding Food Labels

Choosing new foods for your family can be fun. But faced with a shelf full of cans and packages, do you know how to identify the foods that best fit into a balanced diet? Understanding Nutrition Facts labels can help.

Here’s what to look for:

• Servings per package and serving size
• Calorie count and the number of calories that come from fat
• Saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium (the lower the numbers for these, the better)
• Total carbs and sugar counts, given in grams and percentages of your daily value
• Nutrient listings for vitamins and minerals and dietary fiber—daily values are given, but in general, higher is better

Want more information? Check out the article, “Understanding Food Labels” at StrongerTogether.coop!