Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

54 ALICE CALLAHAN, PHD, HEATHER LEONARD, MED, RDN, AND TAMBERLY POWELL, MS, RDN
Putting the Nutrition Facts panel to work for you
How you use the Nutrition Facts on food labels depends on your dietary goals. If you’re
trying to reduce your saturated fat intake, you’ll want to pay close attention to the %DV
for saturated fat and try to choose foods with less than 5% DV for saturated fat. If you’re
watching your caloric intake, you’ll want to pay attention to the calorie information.
Regardless, always start by checking the serving size and comparing it to the amount you
usually consume.
As an example of smart label reading, take a look at the two soup labels below. First, think
about how much soup you would usually consume. There are two servings per can, but
would you eat the entire can or just half of it? Many people would eat the whole can, and if
that’s you, you would want to double all of the calorie and nutrient information. Both soups
provide 160 calories per one-cup serving, or 320 calories for the entire can.