Nutrition Facts Label

Nutritional information is everywhere. Nutrition facts labels are on the side of everything you eat, and you can even find nutritional information for most recipes. Use the online AICR Guide to the Nutrition Facts Label to help you make the best choices about what you eat each and every day.

AICR Guide to the Nutrition Facts Label

What do all these numbers mean? Click the links below to find out.

This Nutrition Facts label is for a particular brand of macaroni and cheese. It would normally appear on the back of the package. The numbers and percentages on it are significant. They tell you whether this brand of macaroni and cheese is a good food choice for you as part of your overall diet on any given day.

The Guide shows you how to compare numbers on a single label and then how to compare corresponding numbers between labels. These comparisons enable you to make informed food choices for better health.

In Conclusion...

By comparing numbers on the Nutrition Facts label, you should be able to decide if the labeled food item is a good choice for you.

In our example, the label discloses that this macaroni and cheese has a high percentage of calories from fat and is high in the combination of saturated fat and trans fat that can raise your bad cholesterol level. It is also high in sodium.

On the other hand, it is low in important vitamins and contains no fiber at all.

In other words, it is high where it should be low and low where it should be high. Its only virtue is the presence of 20 percent of the calcium recommended for daily intake.

Does this assessment mean that you should never eat this brand of macaroni and cheese? Your first option is to choose another product. But if you do choose this item, AICR recommends limiting yourself to a single serving and balancing it with vegetables, fruits or beans, as well as choosing lower fat dishes during the rest of the day for lower cancer risk.