Calories
The number of calories listed on a food label tells you how many calories are in one serving. It’s important to remember that even small packages often contain more than one serving
Carbohydrate
A sugar or starch such as pasta, bread, fruits. vegetables, beans, or dairy that the body uses as its main energy source. Carbohydrates have 4 calories a gram
Cholesterol
Vital for building hormones and cell membranes. Your body makes most of the cholesterol it needs
Daily value
This shows the percentage of a certain nutrient in a food, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. The daily value gives you an idea of a food’s nutrient contribution to your diet
Dietary fiber
The part of plant foods that we cannot digest. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds contain fiber. Fiber helps fill you up, can help lower cholesterol, and keeps you regular
Enriched
Enriched foods have nutrients added to them to replace those lost during food processing. B vitamins, for example, are lost when wheat is processed into white flour, so these nutrients are later added back
Fortified
Fortified foods have nutrients added to them that weren’t there originally. Milk, for example, is fortified with vitamin D, a nutrient that helps you absorb milk’s calcium
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
A sweetener that is often used instead of sugar in food manufacturing
Hydrogenated
Hydrogenation turns a liquid fat such as vegetable oil into a semi-solid, more shelf-stable fat, such as margarine
Monounsaturated fat
A healthy fat found in foods such as nuts, olive oil, and avocados. When used to replace saturated fats, a diet high in monounsaturated fats can help lower bad cholesterol. Most of the fat in your diet should be mono- and polyunsaturated. All fats have 9 calories per gram
Polyunsaturated fat
A fat found in foods such as walnuts, salmon, and, soybean oil. Polyunsaturated fats provide essential fatty acids such as omega-3s and omega-6s to your diet
Saturated fat
Usually solid at room temperature, saturated fats are found in animal products such as meat and milk, as well as in coconut and palm oil. Saturated fat is often used in foods to prevent rancidity and off flavors
Serving size
This section of a nutrition label helps you determine the number of calories and amount of each nutrient in a recommended serving of a food
Sugars
This section of the nutrition label lists added and natural sugars separately. Added sugars include sucrose, glucose, fructose, and corn and maple syrups. Natural sugars include lactose in milk and fructose in fruit
Total calories
This number on a food label indicates how many calories are in a single serving of a food
Total carbohydrate
This number on a food label indicates how many grams of carbohydrates are in a single serving of a food
Total fat
Trans fats are created when liquid fats such as vegetable oil are hydrogenated into more solid fats, such as margarine and shortening
Whole grain
Whole grain foods include the bran, nutrient-rich germ, and endosperm of grains such as wheat, oats, or rice. Examples include brown rice, corn, and whole wheat bread. Whole grain foods have more fiber, vitamins, and minerals than processed white grains