The "Nutrition Facts" panel on food products is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and is required for most packaged foods. It has become so familiar to us that it seems hard to imagine that the panel in its current form is only about a decade old. The panel is studied intently by some consumers, perused by some, and ignored by others. If you have wished to have a better understanding of the information it provides, the following may help you "read" the panel more easily and effectively.

The Nutrition Facts panel has two parts. First, the main or top section contains product-specific information such as serving size, calories, and nutrient information. This information will vary for every food product. Second, the bottom part—found on larger packages—provides recommended daily requirements for some of the items on the panel for someone on a 2,000- or 2,500-calories-a-day diet.

The first item listed is serving size. The serving size is listed in units that are familiar, such as cups or pieces, followed by the metric amount (e.g., the number of grams). All the nutrition information in the top part of the panel is based on this serving size, so it is necessary to read the serving size in conjunction with the number of servings per container, which is listed directly below it. The serving size may or may not be "realistic," based on your consumption habits. If not, you will need to do some math calculations to keep the rest of the information relevant.

The next item listed is calories and, specifically, calories from fat. Calories are a measure of how much "energy" you can get from food. However, if we ingest more calories than our bodies need to function on a daily basis, the extra calories may be stored in our bodies as fat. In the food we eat, calories are either carbohydrates, proteins or fat. Current dietary guidelines state that we should get no more than 30% of our total daily calories from fat, with no more than 10% coming from saturated fat. Nutrition Facts allows you to see the number of calories that come from fat. If you want to convert that into a percentage of total calories, you will have to do that calculation yourself. As an example, if a serving is 250 calories and 110 of those calories come from fat, 44% (110/250) of the calories come from fat. This is not to say you absolutely shouldn’t eat this food—but you will need to balance the rest of your daily intake with some food items that are lower in fat or fat-free in order to balance out your fat intake for the day.

Next, the Nutrition Facts panel focuses on certain items that, according to the USFDA, Americans generally eat in adequate amounts or overeat. These items include Fat, both saturated and unsaturated, Cholesterol, and Sodium. (In a previous Scoop article, we observed that "trans fat," which should be of equal concern to consumers, is not listed.) Medical studies have linked "over consumption" of all three types of fat with health issues. There is evidence that high-fat diets, especially those high in saturated fats, may be a contributing factor in obesity, heart and circulatory system aliments, and some cancers. Cholesterol and sodium are associated with heart disease and high blood pressure, respectively. The USFDA recommends consumers use Nutrition Facts to monitor these items with an eye toward limiting them in their diets.

The fat, cholesterol and sodium are listed in metric amounts (grams and milligrams), as well as the percentage of Daily Value based on a 2,000-calories-a-day diet. If you know how many total grams of fat would constitute 30% or less of your daily intake, based on the number of calories per day that your body needs, the metric amount is helpful. However, if you are not prone to such fine-tuned calculations, the USFDA recommends that even if you are not on a 2,000-calories-a-day diet, a serving of food for which the "% Daily Value" is 20% or more, since fat, cholesterol or sodium is a food you want to limit. By "limit," they don’t mean that you shouldn’t eat it at all—but again, you should balance it with other foods where the % Daily Value for these same items is 5% or less.

The Nutrition Facts panel also focuses on nutrients that the USFDA feels Americans often don’t get enough of: dietary fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron. (You might notice that some panels include additional information on other nutrients such as thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and phosphorus.) In the case of these nutrients, the USFDA suggests that ingesting sufficient amounts will be beneficial to one’s health, and that the risk of some diseases may be reduced. Dietary fiber helps move undigested food through the intestinal tract. Certain types of fiber may be effective in lowering cholesterol levels. The intake of recommended levels of calcium is advised in order to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Although the grams for total carbohydrates and dietary fiber are provided, only the % Daily Value for vitamins A and C, calcium and iron are listed. So in the case of these nutrients, the USFDA recommends that you be sure to include in your daily diet foods where their % Daily Value is 20% or more, and limit those foods where it is 5% or less—just the opposite of the thinking for fat, cholesterol and sodium intake.

Under total carbohydrates and after dietary fiber, sugars are listed in grams. There is no daily value referenced, according to USFDA, because no recommendations have been made for the total amount of sugars to eat in a day. The amount of protein is also listed in grams—but agThe Nutrition Facts panel has obviously been devised with the objective of trying to inform consumers about items the government feels we should limit in our diets in order to reduce our risk for heart diseases, circulatory ailments and some cancers. Conversely, it is hoping to promote what it feels are beneficial nutrients that Americans may be lacking in their diets. Some consumer groups feel the panel could be improved by providing information on the amount of trans fats in foods and by making a distinction, under sugars, between naturally occurring sugars in food and added sugars.

If all this information has your head spinning, go back to the basics—eat whole foods. They carry no Nutrition Facts panel. But if you eat a variety of whole foods and listen when your body tells you it is full, you will probably be getting sufficient amounts of the nutrients your body needs.

Sources: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Guidance on How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Panel on Food Labels"; and Stanley Gershoff ph.d, The Tufts University Guide to Total Nutrition.ain, no daily value is given. The USFDA’s reasoning here is that since there is no public health concern as to adequate protein intake for adults and children over 4 years of age, none need be provided.

The lower half of the panel contains the current recommended total intake for fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates and dietary fiber for someone on a 2,000- or 2,500-calories-a-day diet. The % Daily Values in the top part of the panel are based on the 2,000-calories-a-day totals. However, the daily intake for sodium and cholesterol is the same for everyone. Daily calorie calculations vary. But using one calculation, in order to provide some point of reference, a person weighing at least 150 pounds would require 2,000 calories per day.

The Nutrition Facts panel has obviously been devised with the objective of trying to inform consumers about items the government feels we should limit in our diets in order to reduce our risk for heart deseases, circulatory ailments and some cancers. Conversely, it is hoping to promote what it feels are beneficial nutrients that Americans may be lacking in their diets. Some consumer groups feel the panel could be improved by providing information on the amount of trans fats in foods and by making a distinction, under sugars, between naturally occurring sugars in food and added sugars.

If all this information has your head spinning, go back to the basics-- eat whole foods. They carry no Nutrition Facts panel. But if you eat a variety of whole foods and listen when your body tells you it is full, you will probably be getting sufficient amounts of the nutrients your body needs.