Ever look at the Nutrition Facts label (food label) on
a food package? It lists the nutrients
in a food or drink — vitamins and minerals,
and sugar, fat, and protein. And calcium
too, of course!
Some food packages say "good source of calcium" or "calcium
added." You can check the Nutrition Facts label to see
how much calcium is in the food you eat. The label will
show a percentage or "Percent
Daily Value" (written as % DV or % Daily Value).
It's a number that tells you if there is a lot or a little
of a nutrient in a serving. 5% DV or less of a nutrient
in a serving of food is low and 20% DV or more is high.
One
way to figure out the total calcium in all the foods you
eat is to add up % Daily Value. Girls aged 9—18
need 130% Daily Value for calcium every day. Another way
is to add up the milligrams.
Girls need 1,300 milligrams of calcium every day. 130%
Daily Value is the SAME amount as 1,300 milligrams of
calcium.
One hitch, though. Nutrition Facts labels don't show
how many milligrams of calcium are in a food item.
So how do you figure out milligrams by looking at % Daily
Value on a food label? It's easy! To get an idea of the
number of milligrams of calcium in a food, look at
% Daily Value for calcium on the label. Then just add
0 to the end of that number! Note: This calculation
only works for calcium, not for other nutrients on the
food label.
The above label from an 8-ounce container of plain, fat-free
yogurt shows 45% Daily Value for calcium. If you add "0"
to the end of 45 — you get 450. A serving of plain,
fat-free yogurt has about 450 milligrams of calcium.
Every day girls aged 9-18 need 130% Daily Value (1,300
milligrams) of calcium. Help me figure out what I need
to have at dinner tonight. Here are some food and drinks
with calcium that I've had so far today.
| Food |
%
Daily Value of Calcium |
| One
cup of orange juice with added calcium |
30% |
| 1/2
cup of macaroni and cheese |
20% |
| One
cup of plain non-fat yogurt |
45% |
| Total |
95%
Daily Value of Calcium
(Add a "0" to the end of 95. That's about 950
milligrams of calcium) |
|
My daily total should add up to 130% Daily Value (1,300
milligrams). What other foods with calcium should I eat
today? Click
here to decide!
