Can you explain nutritional information on foods to me?

Question

Can you explain what each is for (fat, carbs, etc.) and how much is needed etc.

Also, are the calories a sort of overall number taken from the fat, protein, carbs, etc. or are they different again?

Anything else is welcome!

Thanks!

Answer 1

no, none of it makes any sense to me

Answer 2

In the U.S., the nutritional facts label lists the percentage supplied required in one day of human nutrients based on the average 2000 calorie a day diet. In certain cases this label is not yet required by law, so a list of ingredients should be present instead. Ingredients are listed in order of most common to least common.

The label was mandated for most food products under the provisions of the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), per the recommendations of the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration It was one of several controversial actions taken during the tenure of FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler. The law required food companies to begin using the new food label on packaged foods beginning May 8, 1994. Foods labeled before that day could use the old label. This appeared on all products in 1995. The old label was titlted "Nutrition Information Per Serving".

The label begins with a standard serving measurement, calories are listed second, and then following is a break down of the constituent elements. Always listed are total fat, sodium, carbohydrates and protein; the other nutrients usually shown may be suppressed if they are zero. Usually all 15 nutrients are shown: calories, calories from fat, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

Products containing less than 5g of fat show amounts rounded to the nearest .5g. Amounts less than .5g are rounded to 0g. For example, if a product contains .45g of trans fat per serving, and the package contains 18 servings, the label would show 0g of trans fat, even though the product actually contains a total of 8.1g of trans fat.

Products that claim to be classified as low-fat and high-fiber must achieve uniform definitions between products of similar labels.

The nutrition facts label currently appears on more than 6.5 billion food packages. President Bill Clinton issued an award of design excellence for the nutrition facts label in 1997 to Burkey Belser in Washington, DC.

The typeface used on the nutrition facts label is Helvetica.  

Answer 3

Take this link for example (follow this link so I can tell you and you'll know): http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlabs.g...

The total amount of calories is always written on top of the nutritional data. On that its 250cals (total calories of that food PER SINGLE SERVING). Always look at the serving portion. It says on the pic that serving per container is 2 so it means that the whole package or container itself amounts to 500calories (all in all).

The calories on the TOTAL FAT, TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE and PROTEIN is already counted in that 250 cals for a single serving that means if you count calories, you dont need to add the calories of fat, carbohydrate and protein as it has been the amount of the total calories mentioned.

And yes!! The calories mentioned is the overall calories in the fat, carbs and protein contained in the food. Lets do the math!!!! Since the total fat on the pic I gave you is 12 grams, you multiply it by 9cals. The total carbs you multiply it by 4cals as well as the total protein.

Total fat: 9 cals x 12 grams = 108 cals

Total carbs: 4cals x 31 grams = 124 cals

Total protein: 4cals x 5 grams = 20 cals

TOTAL : 252 calories (Remember: the total cals is only an APPROXIMATE)