How do you read a nutrition label?

The serving size at the top governs everything beneath it, and it is where most misreading happens: a bottle or bag that looks like one portion is frequently two or three servings, which silently multiplies every calorie, sugar, and sodium figure. Check servings per container first and do the multiplication before evaluating anything else. The FDA updated serving sizes to better reflect what people actually eat, but plenty of packages still split what any normal person consumes in one sitting.

After that, the percent daily value column is the fastest interpretive tool, and the rule of thumb is that 5 percent or less of a nutrient is low and 20 percent or more is high, based on a 2,000 calorie reference diet that may not match yours. Added sugars, broken out separately on current labels, is among the most useful lines, since it distinguishes sugar added during processing from sugar naturally present in fruit or dairy. Sodium is worth watching because most dietary sodium comes from packaged and restaurant food rather than the salt shaker. Ingredients are listed by weight in descending order, so the first few dominate the product, and a long list of sugar synonyms scattered through it can hide a high total. Nutrient claims on the front of the package are marketing and are far less informative than the panel on the back.