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Nutrition
Facts
Everything about the nutrition label -- what it contains, what
it doesn't, and how it is presented -- was decided upon by the
FDA.
Serving Size
All serving sizes have been set by the FDA. All of the information
below pertains to this amount of food.
Calories
Calories are figured from the amount of fat, carbohydrate, and
protein in the food.
Calories
From Fat
This shows how many calories come from fat. To find the Percentage
of Calories Derived from Fat, divide Calories from Fat by total
Calories. In this case, this food gets 5 of its 90 calories
from fat, or 6%.
Total Fat
Many people are watching how much fat they eat. Total fat consists
of three subtypes of fat: saturated fat, monounsaturated fat,
and polyunsaturated fat.
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Saturated
Fat
This is the fat that's linked with high blood cholesterol.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is only found in products of animal origin. If a
product has very little cholesterol (less than 2 mg per serving),
this value may be rounded down to zero.
Sodium
High levels of sodium are found in salt, soy sauce, condiments,
processed foods, cured meats and cheese. Some people are very
salt sensitive. Others can eat sodium without ill effects.
Total Carbohydrate
Carbohydrates contain three categories: simple carbohydrates
(sugars); complex carbohydrates (starches); and dietary fiber.
Dietary Fiber
Dietary fiber are carbohydrates that aren't digested by human
enzymes. They're only found in foods of plant origin, and provide
roughage or bulk to our foods.
Sugars
Sugars can be naturally occurring, like the fructose in fruit
and juice, or they can be from refined sources, like table sugar
(sucrose), corn syrup, or molasses. The FDA has not determined
a Daily Value for sugar.
Protein
Protein is the building material of our bodies. The FDA has
determined that most Americans get more than enough protein,
and does not require a Daily Value listing.
Daily
Values
This is a way that you can evaluate how a particular food fits
into your daily meal plan. These percentages are based on health
agency guidelines listed in the footnote at the bottom of the
label, for a person eating 2,000 calories in a day. This food
item provides only 1% of the amount of fat that a person eating
2,000 calories would consume in a day. Daily Values do not indicate
the percentage of a nutrient in a food -- for instance, the
Daily Value for fat does NOT show the percentage of calories
from fat.
Vitamins and Minerals
These numbers list the percentage of the USRDA of these nutrients.
USRDA stands for United States Recommended Daily Allowance.
Footnote
Health agencies, such as the American Heart Association, have
set guidelines for healthy eating. This footnote sets out guidelines
that apply to people eating 2,000 or 2,500 calories. These guidelines
don't change from label to label. They do not represent what's
in the food you're buying. Instead, these numbers are used to
calculate the Daily Values column above. For instance, a person
eating 2,000 calories should eat no more than 65 grams of fat.
A serving of this food provides 0.5 grams of fat. Divide 0.5
by 65 to get 1%. This food provides 1% of your Daily Value for
total fat if you eat 2,000 calories.
Calories
per Gram Footnote
These numbers are constants. Every gram of fat has 9 calories.
A gram of carbohydrate or protein has 4 calories each. For instance,
this food has 0.5 grams of fat. You would multiply 0.5 by 9
to get 4.5, which is rounded up to 5 Calories from Fat. |
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