Do you know how to read nutrtion information?  The nutrition fact labels can be very beneficial if read before you eat what is contained inside the wrapper.  They contain information about the ingredients, and amounts of other nutrients, such as calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, protein, other vitamins and minerals.  Here, you will learn how to read and understand those labels that are many times overlooked.
 
Ingredients
When looking at any list of ingredients, remember that ingredients are in order of their relative weight. The first ingredient is the one that makes up the greatest part of the product. The last ingredient on the list represents the smallest part of the product, and the others represent amounts in between.

Nutrition Facts
Food labels provide nutritional information for a typical single serving rather than for the entire package or can, unless, of course, that makes up one serving. The serving size is an important measurement, since not all people eat the same amount of food at a single sitting. Try to gauge how close the serving size is to your own eating habits in order to calculate how many nutrients you'll be receiving at each meal.

Food labels also show the amount of certain nutrients per serving along with the "% Daily Value", or DV. The DV is based on a 2,000 calorie diet and is the percentage of each nutrient believed to meet the needs of the average person each day. For example, if a certain food provides 50 percent of the DV for vitamin C, one serving gives a person half the vitamin C needed per day. 
 

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