READING the nutrition facts label on food packaging can be confusing, but that's no reason to close the book.

With a little help from Golda Ewalt, a registered dietician at OSF Saint Francis Medical Centre in Illinois, and Marjorie LaFont, registered dietician and educator at the University of Illinois Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Programme, here's a guide to help solve what the gobbledygook on the nutrition facts label means.

Fat
With as many as four different kinds of fat, including the new federally required listing for trans fat, this can get confusing. Not all fats are created equal. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the best choices, in moderation. But they've still got calories, and nutritionists say only 20 per cent to 35 per cent of your daily calorie intake should come from fats.

Saturated and trans fats are another story. The less, the better. The United States Food and Drug Administration and American Heart Association recommend no more than 10 per cent of daily fat calories should come from saturated fats.

But here's the tricky part, says LaFont. In FDA lingo, 'zero grams of trans fat" listed on the label can actually mean up to half a gram of trans fat per serving.

"The manufacturers have figured it out, so some are changing their sizes so they can say a serving has less than half a gram," she says.

To be sure, go to the list of ingredients.

"If it has hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil listed, then it has trans fatty acids."

Protein
In general, 68 grams of protein a day is plenty for the average 150-pound person. That's slightly less than half a gram per pound, and most persons get enough without trying.

Vitamins and minerals
Don't get too bogged down here, Ewalt says. Chances are, the average person's diet isn't deficient.

Ingredients
The product's ingredients must be listed in order of quantity, from most to least amounts. As for those oddly-named chemical-sounding substances? Most of them are preservatives, and some of them even have health benefits.
But just when you're about to solve the mystery of reading food labels, food manufacturers have been known to throw in a final plot twist. Take cereal food labels, for instance.

LaFont says beware of packages that list three or four different types of sugar. Sometimes manufacturers list each sugar separately so they won't have to list sugar first, as the main ingredient.

Serving size
The roots, the foundation of the nutrition facts label. Ignore it and risk blowing up because the rest of the label's facts - total calories, total fat, etc - are calculated based on serving size. Ewalt likes to point out that the label on a 20-ounce bottle of soda may say it contains 150 calories per serving.
But 20 ounces of soda equals two-and-a-half servings, and who splits the bottle into servings? Drink the whole thing and you're taking in 375 calories. If you're serious, measure the amount of a single serving as listed on the package. See what a serving looks like.

Calories
People are always interested in calories, says LaFont, but it's important to pay attention to fats, sugars and fibers.

Calories measure how much energy we get from a particular food. For instance, 3,500 calories equals one pound of body weight, meaning if you eat 3,500 extra calories, say, over seven days, you'll gain a pound. That's why nutritionists say if you reduce food intake by 500 calories a day, you should lose a pound in a week.

Per cent of daily value
The percentages under this listing are calculated for a moderately active woman, or a fairly sedentary man, who eats 2,000 calories a day.

The "DV" percentage helps determine if a serving is high or low in a particular nutrient. A listing of "5 DV" is low and "20 DV" is high, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

The "DV" almost makes it easy to make comparisons between brands and products. Just make sure you're comparing similar serving sizes.

Using the "DV", you can also easily compare claims, such as "reduced fat", "light" or "nonfat". Just compare the "DVs" for total fat in each product.

Note that trans fat, sugars and proteins do not list a "DV". For trans fats and sugars, that's a sure clue about their low importance in the overall diet. For proteins, a "DV is only required to be listed if an advertising claim is made about protein, such as "high in protein".

Cholesterol
Only animal products are going to have cholesterol. Adults should limit daily intake to 300 milligrams a day or less.

Sodium
A food is low in sodium if it contains no more than 140 milligrams a serving. And the average person should consume fewer than 2,300 milligrams daily.

That means cut back on the processed convenience and packaged foods. A single serving of canned soup or a frozen dinner can eat up nearly half the daily limit easily. And beware of condiments.

Total carbohydrates
A large category that includes everything from whole grains (healthy carbs) to sugars and refined carbs (unhealthy white flours). Nutritionists say studying the sugar and fibre content is most helpful.

"The more fibre, the better," Ewalt says. The average adult should eat between 21 and 35 grams of fibre daily.

Sugars
Though added sugars supply little nutritional value, they show up in the most surprising places. You expect to find them in M&Ms, but pasta sauces and salad dressings? They're often added to foods that claim to be fat-free.

Don't confuse foods with naturally occurring sugars, like those in fruit and milk, to added sugars. For instance, a container of plain yogurt may list 10 grams of sugar, while a same-sized container of fruit yogurt has 44 grams.

Once again, to be sure, go to the list of ingredients. The plain yogurt probably doesn't have added sugars, while the fruit yogurt probably lists corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey, brown sugar or maple syrup. As for the possibility of any other added sugars, remember "-ose" at the end means sugar.

(Additional source: Real Simple magazine, October issue.)
- CNS

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