Learn How to Interpret Nutritional Information

When you purchase a food product from the store or market, do you go through the label or not?

We would often come across nutritional information on the label of any food produce we purchase, but what exactly does nutritional information mean? Just as its name suggests nutritional information gives information on the nutrient status of the food product. In order to make healthier food choices we need to understand how to interpret the information provided on food labels.

What Is Nutritional Information?

Nutritional Information gives information on key ingredients present in the food that could impact your health and this helps you make healthier food choices.

Parts of Nutritional Information

1. Serving information.

2. Calories.

3. Nutrients.

4. Recommended Daily Allowance.

Serving information:

This is usually provided as serving size and it is a representation of the amount that people typically eat or drink. For example, the total weight of a food product could be 200g but the general amount that people eat in one serving is 60g.

Calories:

We have all come across this word at some point. Before I go on, I would like to clarify that calories are the same as kilocalories, but more people prefer to call it calories.

Calories is a measurement of the amount of the energy released from a food when it breaks down.

Usually, 1g of carbohydrate contains 4 kcal, 1g of protein contains 4 kcal while 1g of fat contains 9 kcal.

Nutrients:

This part provides information on the key nutrients present in the food product.

RDA [Recommended Dietary Allowance/Intake]:

This is the recommended daily dietary intake level that is needed to meet the nutrient required for healthy individuals i.e., for you to remain healthy, you should take the recommended dietary allowance of the food product

In order to fully understand how to interpret nutritional information, we would take a look at a sample obtained from a type of butter brand in Nigeria.

Serving Size

From the above we can see clearly that the serving size is 30g. This means that 30g is the common serving size for most people.

Calorie Content

Apparently, for this product the calorie was not given but we were given the energy in kj which is 940kj per 100g. Usually I prefer products that give the calorie content, this makes it easier to keep track of my diet. If you don’t mind you can always calculate the calorie content from the energy by using the following formula.

xKcal = yKj * 0.24

I.e xKcal = 940Kj*0.24

=225.6 kcal.

Basically, to get the Kcal conversion, you multiply the energy by 0.24. From the above we can see that this butter contains a calorie content of 225.6 kcal. Please note that this calorie content is not for the entire product but per 100g of it.

Nutrients

This is a very important section as it shows the essential nutrients present in the butter. Still on the butter, we can see that it does not contain any protein and carbohydrates. Instead, we have the total fat, saturated fat and monounsaturated fat present. For the purpose of this sample, we will discuss a bit on fat.

Fat

Total fat as the name implies is the total of all the fat present in the butter. In the nutritional information present we have:

1. Saturated fat

2. Trans fatty acid.

3. Polyunsaturated fat.

4. Monounsaturated fat.

Saturated fat:

Is usually derived from products such as meat, dairy, and eggs. Other sources include coconut, palm and palm kernel oils. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. They clog the arteries and raise the bad cholesterol levels. I would advise to consume less of this fat. What I mean is avoid food produce that contains more of this fat.

Trans fatty acids:

They are made through the process of partial hydrogenation. These are not natural fat i.e. they are synthesized, and they do not occur naturally. Though they can be found in minute amounts in meat and dairy products. This fat increases the bad cholesterol levels and not just that, it lowers the good cholesterol levels too. I would advise to stay completely away from this fat.

Poly unsaturated fats:

They are liquid at room temperature. Examples are your soybean oil, sunflower oil, etc.

These fats can lower the bad cholesterol but too much of it will also lower the good cholesterol, balance is key.

Monounsaturated fats:

They are also liquid at room temperature, but they solidify at cold temperature. Examples include olive oil, avocado oil, nuts oil, etc. For the amazing part, they lower bad cholesterol levels and maintain the good cholesterol levels too. (How Lovely)

In our sample today we have.

Total fat - 25g.

Saturated fat - 12.5g

Trans fatty acid - 0g.

Polyunsaturated fat - 0.3g.

Monounsaturated fat - 12.5g.

So, what do you think about the fat content of this butter?

Recommended Daily Allowance:

The RDA was only given for the micronutrients. We will only focus on Vitamin A. In 100g butter, we have 990 microgram of vitamin A. The recommended daily allowance is 30 micrograms per 30g. This is for healthy individuals.

Depending on your need, you might require more or less of vitamin A. Though, if you require more vitamin A, then I would not advise you to take more butter, instead you can take other food, fruits or vegetables that contain vitamin A such as milk and carrots. The same goes for the other vitamins mentioned in the nutritional information.

Besides the nutrients mentioned above we observe that the butter also contains sodium of 1.87g (per 100g of butter). Since the recommended sodium intake is less than 5.8 per day, we can say that the sodium present is minute, unless you want to consume the entire butter, which I do not suggest anyone should do.

I personally do not consume butter directly, but definitely use it a lot in my cooking. So, before you use the butter, take on consideration the nutritional information present in order to make a healthy meal. You can also use monounsaturated fats as butter substitutes. Please like, comment and share. Thank you!