How to read the nutritional label

Nutrition

Nutritional labeling is your daily tool for making informed choices about foods and beverages to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

1. Serving size and servings per container

• All the information contained in the nutritional labeling is based on a serving. When comparing calories and nutrients in different foods, it is important to look at the serving size to make an accurate comparison.
• The servings per container are the number of servings that container holds. If the package contains two servings and you eat the entire package, you have consumed double the calories and nutrients listed on the label.

2. Calories and calories from fat

• The calories refer to the total calories (from fat, carbohydrates, and protein) in a serving of the package. To maintain a healthy weight, it is important to pay attention to the calories consumed.

3. Percentage of daily value (%)

• The percentage of the daily value (%) indicates the percentage of the daily recommendation of a certain nutrient that a serving of the food provides. It is based on the daily nutrient recommendation based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
• Understanding this column helps us choose foods that contain nutrients we want to consume more of (for example: fiber and vitamins) and avoid foods that contain nutrients we don’t want to consume in large quantities. (por ejemplo: grasa saturada).

4. Fat

• The total fat is the amount of fat (g) contained in a serving of the package, consisting of: saturated, trans, mono, and polyunsaturated fat.
• The recommendation for saturated fat is less than 20 grams per day or less than 10% of the total daily calories.
• Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Polyunsaturated fats are considered essential because the human body is not capable of producing this type of fat and must obtain it from food.

5. Cholesterol

• Consuming cholesterol in high amounts increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The recommendation for cholesterol per day is less than 300 mg per day.

6. Sodium

• High sodium consumption increases the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, so a consumption of less than 2,300 mg/day (2.3 g/day) is recommended.
• Sodium can also be found under the following names: saline solution, sodium benzoate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, sodium nitrite, and monosodium glutamate.

7. Carbohydrates

• Fiber has many benefits: it promotes gut health, reduces the risk of intestinal diseases, and helps us feel full for longer. The daily fiber recommendation is 25g, so a serving of the food should have at least 3 grams of fiber.

8. Protein

• It is recommended that protein come from both animal sources (beef, seafood, chicken, turkey, dairy, eggs) and plant sources. (frijoles, garbanzos, semillas, soya).

9. List of Ingredients

• The list of ingredients shows the ingredients in descending order (for this reason, the ingredients present in greater quantity are shown first).

Knowing how to read food nutrition labels is crucial for making informed decisions about our diet and health. I hope these tips help you the next time you go to the supermarket.

Source: Esto es azúcar

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