Information is Power

Knowing what you are eating is the most critical part of changing your lifestyle. Labeling laws enforced by the FDA have required food manufacturers to place nutritional information about the amount of fat, carbohydrate and protein contained in all packaged food products. This provides you with the information you need to make healthy decisions. Below is a typical food label you may find on any packaged food along with an example of how to read and understand a nutrition label.

1. Count the number of fat grams on the label and multiply it by 9 calories (1 x 9 = 9). This gives you the number of calories in this food from fat.
2. Count the number of carbohydrate grams on the label and multiply it by 4 calories (47 x 4 = 188). This gives you the number of calories in this food from carbohydrates.
3. Count the number of protein grams on the label and multiply it by 4 calories (3 x 4 = 12). This gives you the number of calories in this food from proteins.
4. Add the three categories together to total your calories for one serving (9 + 188 + 12 = 209).

It should be emphasized that it's not necessary to count your total calories, but you should be aware of the composition of your calories. For example, in the nutrition label provided above we can conclude that this is a low fat, high-carbohydrate food. The easiest way to determine this is to divide each category's calories by the total calories. Carbohydrates make up 85% of the total calories (188 calories from carbohydrates divided by 209 total calories = 85%). Fat is only 4% of the total calories (9 calories from fats divided by 221 total calories). The label even indicates the number of calories derived from fat in the calorie section - so look for it!