nutrition labels allow us to make educated choices about what we eat they include serving size calories percentage of daily value and the 13 core nutrients let's break down the nutrition label a bit more the serving size is at the top of the nutrition label all of the information on the label is based on this amount so we need to ensure that we compare this the amount of food we actually eat for example eating a whole bag of chips when the serving size is for ten chips spoiler alert the portion size on the label is usually quite small and less than most people would eat moving on to calories the number of calories listed is based on the serving size if you have more than the suggested serving size the calories will be higher if you have less calories will be lower remember not all calories are created equal empty calories void of nutrition and full of chemicals and preservatives bog down the body and add up quick clean whole foods are lower in calories and much higher in nutrients and fiber we need to take other things into consideration when choosing foods like the percentage of daily value this tells us how much of a nutrient the food contains 5% of daily value or less is considered little of a nutrient and 15% of the daily value or more it's considered a lot nutrients to look for include fiber vitamin A vitamin C iron and calcium on the flip side nutrients to consume in moderation include trans fats sodium and sugars let's take a look at the nutrition labels for two similar products and see how they stack up by comparing these to cereal labels let's figure out which option is the healthier choice first check the serving size is it the same for both products moving on to calories product 1 has 110 calories per serving while product 2 has 120 now look at the percent of daily value and see which nutrients each product is high and low in product 1 has 16 grams of sugar per serving 1 gram of fiber and 2 grams of protein product 2 has 7 grams of sugar per serving 3 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein even though product 1 has 10 less calories product 2 is a healthier choice it has 5 times the protein 10 grams versus 2 grams which will satiate you and help to rebuild working muscles it also has triple the fiber which will aid in digestion and help you feel full longer product 2 also has less than half of the sugar there are some foods that don't require a label including fresh fruits and vegetables raw meat poultry fish and seafood foods prepared in the store like bakery items and store made salads foods that contain few nutrients like tea coffee and alcohol ultimately the information on a nutrition label is there to help us make informed decisions about what we eat we hope this tutorial has been helpful and makes reading a nutrition label a little bit easier you