7 Things You Need To Know About The New Nutrition Label

Total carbohydrate, Dietary fiber, Total sugars, Added sugar

This part of the label tells us how much carbohydrate is in the product as well as how much fiber and sugar. A healthy diet is high in fiber, so if your taste buds are deciding between two types of crackers and one is higher in fiber grams, choose it.

Added sugars is an awesome addition to the Nutrition Facts label because determining how much added sugar one is eating has been very difficult. The recommended max for consumption of added sugars is 10% of total daily calories, however Americans get about 16% of their total calories from added sugars. The major sources are soda, energy drinks, sports drinks, sugar-sweetened fruit drinks, desserts, and candy.

Protein

The DV for protein isn’t required on the label, so be sure you’re including fish, beans, meat, nuts, and dairy products in your meals and snacks. An average amount of protein needed in one day is 55-65 grams per day.

The Ingredient List

Foods with more than one ingredient are required to list the ingredients (although you’ll see ingredient lists on products with one ingredient, which is a smart marketing move). Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. This can be very informative, telling you how prominent different ingredients are in that product.