Are you looking at the nutrition label on foods for calories? fat? sodium? all of the above?  Are you unsure what you need/should know to decipher all that information?

I had planned to help decode the mystery this week to eliminate the confusion that some people feel when viewing food labels.  After gathering a great deal of information, I came across an article from a wonderful site called Eat Right Ontario that I often recommend to my clients.  They already published an easy to read and understand article on Nutrition Labels that covered it all so I am going to defer to their expertise:

http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Nutrition-Labelling/Decoding-the-Nutrition-Label.aspx

Take away 3 important points:

• Watch portion sizes, especially with foods like cereal where the label provides information often for less then 1 cup and people typically have twice the amount at breakfast
• Be aware the label you are reading recommends nutrient percentages based on a 2000 calorie diet so consider adjusting portions based on your recommended caloric intake
• 5% is a little and 15% is a lot so be mindful of the percentage of fats, sodium and sugars in your food choices

Remember, you only have one life to live, make it SO Full of LIFE!