When you try to pick a cereal to eat, make sure you check the label. Look for whole grains, check the fiber and look for low sugar amounts. Look for cereals with no more than five grams of added sugar per serving. You want low sodium, and watch out for fat traps. Stick to "low-fat" granolas or other cereals. That means no more than three grams of fat per serving.

1. Always check the serving size, first. It may be a bore but if you eat more or less than what's listed, you'll have to adjust the other numbers.

2. Percent % Daily value tells you how much of a day's worth of fat, sodium, etc. the food provides. But don't assume that a food has to have 40 or 50 percent to be high.

3. Check the % Daily Value for Saturated Fat. It causes the most damage to your health. But cholesterol-raising trans fat isn't counted as saturated fat, only in total fat. So if the food contains hydrogenated oils, the label underestimates how much your cholesterol will raise.

4. Calories from fat helps you see how much fat is in the food.

5. The FDA refused to set a Daily Value for added sugars because health authorities haven't set a limit. The Nutrition Action HealthLetter recommends 50 grams. The only bad thing is the labels aren't precise. It includes naturally occurring fruit and milk sugars, but leaves out some of the longer chain sugars.

6. You should compare the % Daily Value of good nutrients like Vitamins A and C, Calcium, Iron and Dietary Fiber with the bad nutrients like fat. If the bad nutrients out number the good nutrients you shouldn't eat the food.