How to Read a Nutrition Label

As the new year fast approaches, you may have healthy eating on your list of wellness goals for 2025.

Joanna Gilbert, RDN, CDCES, Registered Dietician (RD) at EvergreenHealth Weight Loss & Bariatric Care highlights the most important things to look at when reading food labels.

"Understanding how to read a label is the best strategy for not getting overwhelmed by the information," says Joanna. "Hopefully breaking down what of some of the categories mean will help prioritize what you want out of your wellness goals."

Serving Size and Servings Per Container

When reading the nutrition label, we encourage you first look at the serving size and container. Even though it is a common thought, the serving size is not a recommendation of how much you should consume so be mindful of the servings per container. The nutrient amounts listed on the label are for one serving at the given serving size.

The serving size is intended to reflect the amount that people typically consume, but it's important to remember that this amount may be more or less than what you consume in one sitting.

Adjust the nutritional values based on the amount you consume. For example, if a container has four 1-cup servings and you eat 2 cups, double the listed nutrients. If you eat half a cup, halve the nutrients.

Calories

Even though calories are the most prominent number on the label, it isn't necessarily the most crucial.

While managing weight fundamentally involves balancing calories consumed versus calories burned, the calorie count on a nutrition label doesn't always reflect the nutritional value of a food.

Rather than focusing solely on the number of calories, consider the quality of those calories. Look for foods that provide fiber, protein, healthy unsaturated fats, and limited added sugars.

By prioritizing calorie quality and selecting foods that offer the most nutritional value for your calorie intake, you can naturally manage or reduce your overall calorie consumption.

Fiber

Fiber is one of the most important nutrients to add to your diet because it helps keep you full and satisfied, promotes regular bowel movements as well as slows nutrient absorption into the bloodstream, helping to prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes.

RD Tip: Look for a 10:1 ratio (or less) of total carbohydrates to dietary fiber—the lower the better. For example, if a food has 20 grams total carbs, you want at least 2 grams of fiber.

Unsaturated Fat

Fats often receive negative attention, but they are vital for our overall health. While saturated fats can lead to health problems like heart disease, unsaturated fats are recognized for their health benefits.

Unsaturated fats can help to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol, aid in weight management by promoting satiety, and can help to reduce inflammation.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting saturated fat intake to less than 10% of calories per day by replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fats.

Sodium

RD Tip: Try to limit foods that have more than twice the milligrams of sodium than calories per serving. A high sodium content compared to calorie content typically indicates a food is highly processed.

Total and Added Sugars

It is most important to focus on added sugars, versus total sugars when reading a food label. Many foods contain naturally occurring sugars such as fruit and dairy.

Added sugars can still be included in a balanced diet but should be consumed in moderation. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting calories from added sugars to less than 10 percent of total calories per day.

Whether you're looking at calories, fiber, fats, sodium, or sugar, the amount of nutrients you want to consume per day will vary depending on your wellness goal. All specific nutrient recommendations should be individualized.

No matter what label you're focusing on, the amount of nutrients you want to consume per day will vary depending on your wellness goal.

Your primary care physician can help provide recommended guidelines for nutrition or you can also schedule an appointment with EvergreenHealth Nutrition Services where registered dietitians work together with you to discuss your health goals and design personalized plans to improve your nutrition.