Nutrition labels?

Question

How do I read nutrition labels to know what option is the best choice?

BCBSIL Connect Team · Accepted Answer

Great question! 
 Reading food labels can be very overwhelming. After all, with limited time and most dinner decisions made after 4 pm on the same day, shoppers want to get in and out of the grocery stores quickly. 
 
 Review food labels at home prior to arriving at the grocery store so you are prepared in advance. This approach will save shopping time and put you in the driver&rsquo;s seat when it comes to making shopping decisions for you and your family 
 Identify your nutrition goals and focus on the nutrients that will impact your nutrition goals 
 Compare the same type of products and identify what on the label is the same and what is different? See soup label example below. 
 Are you seeing recognizable ingredients. 
 The best choices in the grocery store are low in sugar, sodium, reasonable calories, high fiber and nutrient dense (provide a lot of nutrients for the least number of calories) 
 
 Example Soup Label: what is different? 
 
 Start at the top of the label 
 
 Serving size (portion size identified) 
 Serving per container (total amount in package) 
 
 All nutrients below represent a single portion 
 
 Calories portion size amount identified in the serving size 
 Total Fat includes all types of fat: Saturated fat, trans fat, unsaturated fat 
 Total sodium (milligrams) portion size amount identified in the serving size 
 Total Carbohydrate encompasses fiber and total sugars which can include added sugar and sugar that is naturally occurring in the food 
 Total Protein the amount of protein the food contains