The Nutrition Facts label has always been a helpful tool for choosing foods that fit in with your health goals.
But what we know about nutrition has changed in the nearly 30 years since the Food and Drug Administration began requiring the label on packages. This year’s new label better aligns the information you see with recent nutrition science and is more consumer-friendly to use. Hereâs how the changes can help you.
Hover your cursor over the black dots (or tap on mobile) on our illustration to see the tips.Â
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var textBody = ["No more squinting to make out the nutrition values. The new labels sport bigger, bolder print.",
"A serving of ice cream for just 100 calories sounds sweet, until you notice that a serving is a measly ½ cup. Now serving sizes for some foods have been revised to be more in line with the way people really eat. (Ice cream is now â cup.) And if a package has one to two servings, the calorie and nutrient counts must be given for the entire package. If it holds two to three servings but you could reasonably eat it all at once (say, a 2½-ounce bag of chips), the label must list the info for a serving and the whole thing.",
"Calorie count is listed larger than other items and in bold. Of course, itâs not just the number that mattersâitâs also the nutrients you get for those calories. Still, if youâre managing your weight, being able to easily read the calories can help you choose among brands when youâre shopping.",
"The old label listed how much of vitamins A and C were in the food in question. On the new label, itâs vitamin D and potassium that are shown. Most people get enough A and C, but about 17 percent of those ages 60 and older have low blood levels of vitamin D, and 98 percent of all Americans donât get enough potassium. Theyâre important for heart health, immune system function, and bone health. The label shows how much of each is in your food (by serving) and the percentage of the daily value.",
"One thing you wonât see any longer is âcalories from fat.â The implication there was that all fats were bad. Omitting that telltale phrase (and number) acknowledges that many fats (like olive oil) are important in a healthy diet.",
"Perhaps the biggest improvement is separating total from added sugars. Total sugars incorporates the sugars found naturally in a food, such as in fruit or milk. But what you really need to know is how much sugar a manufacturer has added to a product. Sugar goes by many namesâsuch as brown rice syrup, high fructose corn syrup, agave nectar, and honeyâand often thereâs more than one type in the ingredients list. Your daily intake of added sugars shouldnât exceed 50 grams if you eat 2,000 calories.",
"A âsingle ingredientâ sugar, like honey or maple syrup, doesnât have additional sugar added to it, so it doesnât have to list a gram amount of added sugars on the label. But a serving still contributes to overall added sugars intake, so the label gives the percent of the daily value of added sugars it supplies. So if you stir a tablespoon of maple syrup into oatmeal, know that youâre eating 12 of the maximum 50 grams of added sugars you should have in a day."];
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Editorâs Note: This article also appeared in the September 2020 issue of Consumer Reports On Health.Â
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