How to Read and Understand Nutritional Supplement Labels

Introduction

If you've ever consumed something from a package or box, you've probably seen a Nutrition label. It's that section on the side of most packaged and processed foods that has all the percentages and nutrients on it.

It might be useful to highlight the most important things to consider on Nutrition or food labels so you can make the best decisions for you regardless of any changes in the label.

The importance of nutritional labeling can be perplexing for people who don't fully comprehend what they indicate or who are easily misled by numbers. 

Remember to examine the nutrition label. According to studies, Label readers make healthy and nutritious grocery choices and manage healthier weights.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) entails the nutritional manufacturing services for nutrition facts label on most packaged foods and beverages. The Nutrition label contains in-depth information about the nutritional content of food, such as the amount of fat, sugar, protein, etc. 

In 2016, the FDA announced label changes aimed at assisting consumers in making more knowledgeable decisions. The changes are expected to be implemented by nutritional supplement manufacturers by 2021.

Well, there is a list of ingredients mentioned in every nutrition label. That helps you determine the quantity of all the ingredients you’re gonna intake from that particular food package.

1. Sugars

The very first content to discuss would definitely be sugars as it is the most deleterious thing you can eat for your health, causing more individuals to gain weight, develop food addictions, mood disorders, and other problems. 

You should be aware that 4 grams of food label sugar equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar. You don't need more sugar than that amount on any processed food. Even though it mentions that it is natural sweeteners. You should have clarity for how much sugar quantity wouldn’t be harmful i.e, 4 to 5 grams per serving.

2. Serving Size

The serving size stated in Nutrition Facts is the amount that is typically consumed in a single sitting. Evaluate this to the amount you actually eat to determine whether you are consuming more or less of what is on the label.

The serving size may vary due to single and multiple sittings. Hence, the new implementations have an elaborative note on the FDA website for calculating the calories and nutrients per serving or per unit.

3. Fat

When you look at the total fat section, you’ll see a dropdown list of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fats. Some include trans fats, which should always be zero. 

Ideally, the majority of the fats should be monounsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats are also acceptable, but not in the form of vegetable oils or pasteurized oils. The monounsaturated fats found in raw nuts, seeds, avocados, dark chocolate, and olive oil are the healthiest.

If you want to lose weight, avoid foods with more than 15 grams of fat per serving. A high level of cholesterol indicates that the food is high in fat. Always remember that for weight loss, you should limit your fat intake to 40 grams per day i.e, 10 grams per meal.

4. Protein

Now, after emphasizing most of the “less consuming” ingredients from the nutrition label, let’s see how much protein is essential should be present in your every meal. Protein is something that all of us might be looking for firstly in any nutrition label. It should account for between 20% and 25% of total calories on a real-food diet. This equates to 20 to 22 grams of protein per meal. 

The protein content is a necessary ingredient because it helps to keep your blood sugar stable for longer, can assist to strengthen your metabolism, and even improve mental focus. For making the best choices, you have to take a maximum of your protein requirements from whole foods (always prevent intake of soy protein).

The above four are the major components or contents to look for whenever you purchase processed or packaged foods. However, it is compulsory to reflect on the amount of all such ingredients. Thus, the importance of nutritional labeling is raising awareness among people for making the right choices.

The Bottom line

NutraPak is the leading nutritional manufacturing services provider company in the USA. We adhere to the guidelines of the FDA and executed the updated nutritional label policy this year.

We have been a nutritional supplement manufacturer for the last 10 years in the USA. Our fish oil and nutritional supplements are popular globally. We deliver private labeling services, contract packaging, etc. We can undertake the manufacturer and supplier of your supplements project. Visit us for more information.