| With the new food label in front of you follow these five easy steps:
Step #1 Look at the Serving size
If you eat the serving size shown on the Nutrition Facts Table you will get the amount of calories and nutrients that are listed. Always compare the serving size on the package to the amount that you eat.
Step #2 Look at the Calories
Calories tell you how much energy you get from one serving of a packaged food.
Step #3 Look at the Percent Daily Value (%Daily Value)
% Daily Value puts nutrients on a scale from 0% to 100%. This scale tells you if there is a little or a lot of a nutrient in one serving of a packaged food.
Step #4 Look at the nutrients and get less of these:
- Fat, saturated fat and trans fat
- Cholesterol
- Sodium
Choose packaged foods with a low %Daily Value of fat, cholesterol (also a fat), and sodium, especially if you are at risk for heart disease or diabetes.
Step #5 Look at the nutrients and get more of these nutrients:
- Carbohydrate
- Fibre
- Vitamin A and Vitamin C
- Calcium
- Iron
Choose packaged foods with a high % Daily Value of these nutrients. If you have diabetes, watch how much carbohydrate you eat as this will affect your blood glucose levels.
|
This article was prepared by Susan Roberts, member of 
