As a foodie and nutrition expert, I’m always on top of what’s really in the food I greedily devour on a daily basis. If you haven’t already, you should also consider what’s in your food more closely. Being unaware of what is inside your food and ultimately what you are putting into your body can put you and your health at serious risk. Fortunately, the government has put in place a good rule for food companies that requires them to include this information on their products. You’ll find it on the Nutrition Facts Panel. Some of you can use this already and some of you can’t. But I’m here to help you decipher this ever-important label so you can educate yourself to the best of your ability and make informed choices about your food. So here goes…

Portion size. Without a doubt, the first thing I look at in this data panel is the serving size. It tells me how much of the food I can eat for a given amount of calories, fat, cholesterol, etc. If you don’t look at the serving size, the rest of the data panel is meaningless. Let’s say you’re watching the amount of fat you eat, so you choose low-fat ice cream. If you don’t look at the serving size and half the container, that ice cream is probably no longer low-fat. The servings per container are self explanatory. It’s how many of those predetermined size servings are in that box.

calories. One of the next items I look at is calories. It’s probably the most popular item people look at when reading the nutrition panel. It tells you how many calories are in a serving of food. I used to focus much more on how many calories were in a food. But it’s important to see the big picture (which means we need to check everything else before coming to an executive decision). So let’s move on.

%Daily value. This is not really an ingredient or a nutrient in the food. This is a numerical value, a percentage, that is based on the recommended daily amounts. Everyone is assigned a “daily value” or recommended amount for calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, and all vitamins and minerals. You want to try to meet or stay below (for sodium, cholesterol, trans and saturated fats) these recommended values ​​for optimal health. This Percent Daily Value tells you how much one serving of food will give you to reach the recommended amount.

fat. The amount of fat listed on the nutrition panel is a multi-step process. The first list is “total fat,” which is the total amount of all types of fat (in grams) per serving. It includes heart-healthy fats and not-so-good fats like trans and saturated fats. The total fat is then broken down into its components of saturated fat and trans fat. You want both of these types to be as close to zero as possible (especially trans fats). However, fat is 100% necessary for the normal functioning of your body, so don’t avoid it, just choose the ones that are heart healthy.

cholesterol and sodium. Two separate sections, but overall there’s not much to say here. You know it’s bad. I know it’s bad. Keep it to a minimum, guys.

Total carbohydrates. Total carbohydrates are similar to the list of total fats: it is the total amount of all types of carbohydrates present in the food. As you can see, total carbohydrates include fiber and sugar. In the case of fiber, the higher the better (it can help lower cholesterol). The sugar listed here is both natural sugar and added sugars. In general, this number should be on the lower side. However, do not forget that foods such as fruit and dairy products contain natural sugars and both should be consumed as part of a regular diet.

protein. Protein is an important part of your diet: it becomes the building blocks of all your cells. I can’t really give you a high or low number for this because depending on the food it will vary a lot. Although when I look for breakfast cereals, I look for those with more protein (like around 10g/serving) because otherwise I’ll be hungry in an hour. You just want to make sure you’re getting lean, high-quality protein at every meal.

Vitamin/Mineral List. This is an important part! The main purpose of why we humans eat food is to get all the nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, that we need to survive on a daily basis. You need to know how much of these your food provides so you can plan your diet accordingly. The 4 required nutrients in this section are vitamin A and C, iron and calcium. Many food companies, especially cereal/bread companies, will provide additional information on vitamins or minerals. They don’t have to though. But your goal is to get 100% of that recommended daily amount that we talked about earlier.

List of ingredients. Although listed last, this is probably one of the most important pieces of information about the product. This is a detailed list of everything the food company puts in the food, from the most abundant ingredient (listed first) to the least (listed last). When I’m reading this, I really try to adhere to my “5 ingredient rule”: don’t buy anything with 5 or more ingredients and especially ingredients you can’t pronounce. This helps ensure you get a more natural, unprocessed product. Although there are exceptions to the rule, it is good to keep this in mind.

Now that you’re an “official nutrition facts panel” decoder, you can start making those executive decisions about the foods you buy. As I mentioned before, I personally don’t focus too much on calories. I like to get the most bang for my calorie buck. I mean… I want a product with high amounts of the good stuff (fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc.) for a reasonable amount of calories or fat. You can choose something else to focus on, such as the sodium content or the amount of fiber in the product. But whatever you decide to do, the goal is to understand what you’re reading and ultimately be able to make informed decisions about your food.