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Understanding Food Labels

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Understanding Food Labels

October 13th 2012

The 5/20 rule is very useful to decide whether a food is good or worth the calorie intake. The 5/20 rule is when you make sure the food has at least 5% of the daily value. In my fridge is a can of Pepsi a 12fl. Oz can is 1 serving but it is not a significant source of any vitamins. Sun Chips are ok since they have 10% daily value of fiber and there are 15 chips per servings. To understand a food label you need to know to read the nutrition label. There are 6 steps to reading a nutrition label. 1. Is to know the serving size and amount of servings. 2 check the amount of calories. 3. Is to limit fat, cholesterol, and sodium. 4. Is what nutrition you need to watch for iron, calcium, vitamins A and C. 5. Is so you understand the footnote at the bottom of the label. The footnote tells that the daily value is based on a 2000 calorie diet. 6. Is the percent based on the daily nutrition value available in the food. As a mother it is very important for me to understand nutrition labels. If I do not understand food labels I could not teach my children about serving sizes and nutrition. It is important to eat healthy. What a person puts into their body affects how much energy they have and your nutrition effects how your immune system works. Vegetable with beef stock soup Total calories per serving 80
Percentage of calories from fat 1%
Total amount of carbohydrates (in grams) 15g
Total amount of protein (in grams) 3g Total amount of fiber (in grams) 2g

Vegetarian Vegetable Soup Total calories per serving 45
Percentage of calories from fat 0 Total amount of carbohydrates (in grams) 10g
Total amount of protein (in grams) 2g Total amount of fiber (in grams) 1g

Sun Chips Total calories per serving 140 Percentage of calories from fat 60 Total amount of carbohydrates (in grams) 19g Total amount of protein (in grams) 2g Total amount of fiber (in grams) 3g

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