How to Read a Nutrition Label

Updated


Every packaged food item has one — a rectangular white label that tells you the nutrition facts you need to know about a particular food. Attached to the back of a food item, a nutrition label tells you how healthy or unhealthy a food item is.

Learn How to Read a Nutrition Label

To help you decide whether you should include certain foods in your diet, a nutrition label includes details like which nutrients and how many of each are in a serving of food, as well as how each nutrient contributes to your daily dietary requirements.

Nutrition labels contain dietary information that can affect your short-term and long-term health. In order to maintain a healthy diet, it's important to know how to read them so that you avoid consuming foods that could be harmful to your health, and nutrition labels can be confusing.

If you're not sure how to read a nutrition label, we're here to help. We've created a guide that explains what everything listed on a nutrition label means, starting from the top of the label and down to the bottom, helping you stay informed and healthy.

Check out the slideshow above to learn what everything on a nutrition label means.

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