The Nutrition Fact Label:
Is it useful or what?

The first thing to know about a "nutrition fact label" is that not all of the information on it is actually a fact. But most of the information on a nutrition facts label, like the amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat is accurate and useful.

On the other hand, information on the nutrition fact label, like the percentage of daily recommended values of some nutrients, is based on outdated nutritional research and isn't "fact." So it's really a waste of paper and ink!

What is a nutrition fact label?

All processed and packaged foods are required by law to have a "nutrition label" providing information about the nutritional values and ingredients it contains.

You won't find nutrition labels on fresh produce or a fish you catch for dinner because they're not processed - they are "whole" foods.

The nutrition fact label is supposed to help consumers choose foods to meet the recommendations of the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans." These guidelines are published by the US government.

According to recent news articles, the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration) is planning to review all these nutrition fact label guidelines and to update the information on nutrition labels. That's a sure sign that you should use the information selectively!

The main point to make is that the data on nutrition facts labels is a general guide to the nutritional content of the food. It is not to be taken as cold, hard fact engraved in stone!

Useful information on the nutrition fact label

Here is a nutrition label that I've scanned for an example. This is for a can of Rosarita® refried beans - a food that I thought wasn't very healthy and "fattening" until I learned more about nutrition and read the nutrition fact label. I have highlighted and outlined in red the data that I find useful.

The information on the nutrition facts label is pretty straightforward. If you want a more detailed description of each piece of data on the nutrition label, there are sites all over the Web that describe it beautifully. I want to talk with you about the practical use of the information.

Using the information on the nutrition fact label

The first thing to check out is the serving size. All the information on the label is PER SERVING, not per container! The number of servings the container has is listed on the nutrition label too.

The serving size is given in the American system of cups, tablespoons and teaspoons as well as in grams. That's what the "g" stands for in the label, "grams." Look at the end of this page for a visual representation of how much a gram is.

Sometimes manufacturers will have a serving size that's too small even for an ant. If you only look at the calories and the other data but not the serving size, you might think the product had good nutrition.

An example would be processed snack foods. A serving size might be something like "5 chips." Who the [bleep] would only eat 5 chips? That serving size might have 50 calories (this is just a made-up example). See how "50 calories" might seem fine if you didn't know that was just for 5 chips?

The other information given on the label is the types and amounts of dietary fats, sodium, cholesterol, carbohydrates (including fiber and sugars, which are both types of carbohydrates) and protein.

This data has general usefulness, especially if you need to know specifically how much of a particular nutrient is in the food. An example would be the sodium content info for people who need to keep track of how much sodium they are consuming each day.

On my refried beans label, I was amazed when I found out just how little fat and how much fiber and balanced protein and carbs they have! Beans rock!!!

The nutrition label ingredients list

Look at the refried beans label above and read the ingredient list out loud. You could easily do it huh? Have you ever tried to read a food label where almost all the ingredients were in another language? Not fun...

There is a "dark side" to food manufacturing and processing that is pretty evil. We aren't going to go there - but let me ask you this: Do you really know what high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils or those other things that that are impossible to pronounce on the nutrition fact label are? Do you really want to put that stuff in your body if you don't know what it is, much less even pronounce the name?

Useless data on the nutrition fact label: Recommended Daily Allowances

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that some of the information on nutrition labels is useless. I am specifically referring to the "percentages of Daily Values" sections.

These percentages are only based on a certain number of calories being consumed per day. How can the percentages be useful when each of us has not only a different amount of calories we need on a daily basis, but different amounts and combinations of nutrients? I don't see how the percentage data can be useful. Have you ever used it?

More importantly "The US Recommended Daily Allowance/Dietary Reference Intakes are too low and most should be raised immediately, says an independent panel of physicians, academics and researchers..."

This is an excerpt from the article "Doctors Say, Raise the RDAs Now," published by the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 30, 2007. It's a short, non-technical article that I recommend reading if you want more information on government nutrient recommendations and current research and conclusions about them.

The nutrition fact label is excellent for comparing nutrients and ingredients in similar products to help you make healthier decisions. If you are working towards more balanced nutrients in your diet or need to know how many carbohydrates or sodium a food contains, the nutrition fact label is very useful for those things.

Cheers!

*How much is a gram?? Definition of a gram Good question! I wondered that myself since so many things are measured in grams, especially the information on the nutrition fact label. First, a gram measures the weight of something in the metric measurement system. In the US, we don't use the metric system very much. We measure by pounds and ounces for weight, and tablespoons and cups for volume (the amount of something (the volume), not how much it weighs.) In the metric system of measurement, volume is measured in liters. Anyway, 1 gram (abbreviated "g") is a pretty small amount. 1 gram = about 1/5 of a teaspoon (0.211 teaspoons), or the other way around, there are about 4 3/4 grams in 1 teaspoon (4.745 grams per teaspoon). "mg" stands for "milligram," which equals 1 1000th of a gram. Pretty dang small! Imagine that gram being divided into 1000 equal parts. 1 mg is that amount. "mcg" stands for "microgram," which equals 1 millionth of a gram. I don't have a picture of that miniscule amount!

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