Nutrition Facts:
Reading food labels can be tricky. The American Heart Association has some tips to make it
easier.
Here are more tips for getting as much health information as possible from the “Nutrition Facts”
label:
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The information on food labels are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. If you need to consume
less than 2,000 calories your percentages would be different. Generally calories are
considered:
o Low :40 calories per serving
o Moderate: 100 calories per serving
o High: 400 calories or more per serving
Trans fat does not have a percentage listed because the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) does not have enough scientific information to set this value. The
American Heart Association recommends eating less than 20 calories or (less than two
grams of trans fat) a day
When the Nutrition Facts panel says the food contains “0 g” of trans fat, it means the food
contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.
When the Nutrition Facts label says a food contains “0 g” of trans fat, but includes
“partially hydrogenated oil” has trans fat but less than 0.5 grams of per serving. So, if you
eat more than one serving, you could reach your daily limit of trans fat quickly.
If a food claims to be...
It means that one serving of the product contains...
Calorie free
Less than 5 calories
Sugar free
Less than 0.5 grams of sugar
Fat
Fat free
Less than 0.5 grams of fat
Low fat
3 grams of fat or less
Reduced fat or less
fat
At least 25 percent less fat than the regular product
Lean
Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol
Extra lean
Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol
Light (lite)
At least one-third fewer calories or no more than half the fat of the regular product, or no more
than half the sodium of the regular product
Cholesterol
Cholesterol free
Less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams (or less) of saturated fat
Low cholesterol
20 or fewer milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat
Reduced
cholesterol
At least 25 percent less cholesterol than the regular product and 2 grams or less of saturated
fat
Sodium
Sodium free or no
sodium
Less than 5 milligrams of sodium and no sodium chloride in ingredients
Very low sodium
35 milligrams or less of sodium
Low sodium
140 milligrams or less of sodium
Reduced or less sodium
At least 25 percent less sodium than the regular product
Calories Count:
Below is a list of fat-free versus regular food items. As you can see, although you may choice a
fat-free item, it might have similar calories. Calories do count, so read labels. Choose food that
is both low in saturated fat and calories.
Reduced-fat peanut butter,
2 Tbsp
187
Regular peanut butter,
2 Tbsp
191
Reduced-fat chocolate chip cookies, 3
cookies (30 g)
118
Regular chocolate chip cookies, 3 cookies
(30 g)
142
Fat-free fig cookies,
2 cookies (30 g)
102
Regular fig cookies,
2 cookies (30 g)
111
Fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt (<1% fat),
½C
100
Regular whole milk vanilla frozen yogurt
(3–4% fat),
½C
104
Light vanilla ice cream
(7% fat), ½ C
111
Regular vanilla ice cream,
(11% fat), ½ C
133
Fat-free caramel topping,
2 Tbsp
103
Caramel topping,
homemade with butter,
2 Tbsp
103
Low-fat granola cereal, approx. ½ C (55
g)
213
Regular granola cereal, approx. ½ C (55
g)
257
Low-fat blueberry muffin,
1 small (2½ inch)
131
Regular blueberry muffin,
1 small (2½ inch)
138
Baked tortilla chips, 1 oz
113
Regular tortilla chips, 1 oz
143
Low-fat cereal bar, 1 bar
(1.3 oz)
130
Regular cereal bar, 1 bar
(1.3 oz)
140
Nutrient data taken from Nutrient Data System for Research, Version v4.02/30, Nutrition
Coordinating Center, University of Minnesota.
Here is a list of dairy food choice alternatives that are healthier provided by the National Institute
of Health.
Higher Fat Foods
Lower Fat Alternative
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Evaporated whole milk
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Evaporated fat-free (skim) or
reduced-fat (2%) milk
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Whole milk
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Low-fat (1%), reduced-fat (2%),
or fat-free (skim) milk
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Ice cream
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Sorbet, sherbet, low-fat or fat-free
frozen yogurt, or ice cream
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Whipping cream
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Imitation whipped cream (made
with fat-free [skim] milk)
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Sour cream
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Plain low-fat yogurt
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Cream cheese
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Neufchatel or "light" cream
cheese or fat-free cream cheese
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Cheese (cheddar, Swiss, jack)
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Reduced-calorie cheese, lowcalorie processed cheeses, etc.
Fat-free cheese
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American cheese
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Fat-free American cheese or other
types of fat-free cheeses
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Regular (4%) cottage cheese
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Low-fat (1%) or reduced-fat (2%)
cottage cheese
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Whole milk mozzarella cheese
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Part-skim milk, low-moisture
mozzarella cheese
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Whole milk ricotta cheese
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Part-skim milk ricotta cheese
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Coffee cream (½ and ½) or nondairy
creamer (liquid, powder)
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Low-fat (1%) or reduced-fat (2%)
milk or fat-free dry milk powder
For further comparison of other food groups, please go to
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/lcal_fat.htm
Take this little quiz and send it to Sue McCabe „01 for your chance to be entered in
a drawing.
REMEMBER:
20% Daily Value or more
of Fat, Cholesterol or
Sodium for a food is
considered HIGH and we
should not each a lot of food in
this category.
Foods that are HIGH (20% or
more) in...Fiber, Vitamins,
and Minerals like Calcium and
Iron are good choices.
1. What is the serving size of the American Cheese?
a. 210 calories
b. 1 slice
c. 17 g
d. 2 slices
2. How many calories would you get if you ate one slice of cheese?
a. 210
b. 150
c. 105
d. 16
3. Which nutrient in the cheese would be considered high and healthy for you?
a. Vit A
b. Calcium
c. Iron
d. Fat
4. Which nutrient(s) in the cheese would not be considered healthy?
a. Saturated Fat
b. Sodium
c. Saturated Fat & Sodium
d. Protein
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