The Food and Drug Administration-approved nutrition label includes information useful to choosing food that’s both nutritional and satisfying. Each section of the nutrition facts label is intended to serve the purpose of making health-conscious decisions.

According to the FDA, the food label is set up with the important information on serving size and calories first, followed by the nutrients you should limit and then the nutrients you should make sure to intake.

Judy Trumpy, registered dietitian at the Thielen Student Health Center, said when she looks at the serving size and calories, she first looks at the fiber, protein and other vitamins and minerals before looking at the fat, sodium and sugars in comparison to carbohydrates.

Serving size

Trumpy said to first look at the serving size to determine the amount of food a person will actually be consuming so all other nutrient values match accordingly.

“The first thing to do would be to look at the size serving that is on the [food item],” Trumpy said. “You could think, ‘I’m going to have two servings, that would double all the figures that are on here.’”

Serving size is also an important factor when comparing nutrients between two different products or brands, Trumpy said.

Calories

It’s important to look at the calories for taking into consideration the number of servings that will be consumed. According to the FDA, “many Americans consume more calories than they need without meeting recommended intakes for a number of nutrients.”

Trumpy said it’s important to remember that “calories do count,” and that just because it’s fat-free or low-fat, it doesn’t mean it’s calorie free.

“That whole idea of there’s two servings per package and you’re going to eat the whole package, you have to double everything all the way down,” Trumpy said.

Another consideration when it comes to calories is to look at the “Calories from Fat” and analyze the percent of daily value, which, although 2,000 calories may be too many or not enough, it can help measure your daily calorie intake, Trumpy said.

Total fat — saturated fat, trans fat

Trumpy said everyone needs fat in their everyday diets and should try to include more mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

“You have to have some fat in your diet every day,” Trumpy said. “It makes dishes palatable, lends piety to the dish and prevents cravings between meals.”

Although mono- and polyunsaturated fats aren’t required on food labels, looking at the amount of saturated and trans fat and trying to limit these can help in making nutritious decisions, she said.

According to the FDA, eating too much fat, especially saturated and trans fat, along with foods that have high levels of cholesterol and sodium, “may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases.”

Cholesterol

Although another important consideration, cholesterol is not as vital to limit as the saturated and trans fats, Trumpy said.

“We know from past research that the cholesterol in your food does influence the cholesterol in your body and in your blood, but not to the degree we thought it did,” Trumpy said. “It’s actually the fat that’s the more important, the saturated fat — that’s the more important factor.”

Sodium

Sodium affects some people’s blood pressure more than others, Trumpy said, but it’s another area limit in one’s daily diet, along with cholesterol and saturated and trans fats.

“It does have an effect in the body by retaining fluid that forces your heart to pump more fluid and that causes a pressure on your arteries and veins,” Trumpy said.

Potassium

Although potassium is not on every food label, Trumpy said it’s a nutrient that research is finding has several benefits.

“We are finding out more and more the role that it plays in helping lower blood pressure.” Trumpy said.

Since it’s not on all food labels, Trumpy said a person can determine whether or not they’re getting enough potassium by making sure they eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and dairy.

Potassium may be the one nutrient, Trumpy said, that people are not paying close enough attention to.

“Some of the reading I’ve done shows that potassium — that getting more potassium — might be more critical than reducing the sodium that you’re getting,” Trumpy said. “I mean, they’re both important, but we’ve overlooked the potassium.”

Total Carbohydrate — dietary fiber, sugars

Trumpy said a person should look at the amount of sugar in comparison to the total carbohydrates and if half of the carbohydrates are sugars, then it isn’t the best choice.

“The caution is to limit your simple sugar,” Trumpy said, which she said isn’t table sugar, but fructose, sucrose, glucose and corn syrup.

Besides looking at the sugars, Trumpy said “people are looking at fiber more, too,” because of its benefits.

According to the FDA, “Most Americans don’t get enough dietary fiber,” and “eating a diet high in dietary fiber promotes healthy bowel function.”

Trumpy said in general, people aren’t paying close enough attention to the fiber and sugar carbohydrates, which are found underneath the total carbohydrates count.

“I think they do miss the fiber and they don’t look at the sugar and compare it to the [total] carbohydrates,” Trumpy said.

Protein

“Most Americans do get enough protein, but not from the healthiest sources,” Trumpy said.

People are consuming the amount of protein they need each day, Trumpy said, but should be getting more of it from dairy products and beans, rather than just red meat.

Vitamins and minerals

According to the FDA, people need to make sure they’re getting enough vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron every day, because “eating enough of these nutrients can improve your health and help reduce the risk of some diseases and conditions.”