A Beginner’s Guide to Reading Nutrition Labels

Nutrition labels look intimidating, but you only need to know a few things to use them well:

• Serving size first. All the numbers below it apply to one serving — and packages often contain several.
• Calories per serving, kept in context of your whole day, not feared or obsessed over.
• Added sugars. The label now separates these from naturally occurring sugars — a useful line to watch.
• Sodium and saturated fat, especially if you eat a lot of packaged foods.
• Fiber and protein, which generally contribute to feeling full.
• Ingredients list. Ingredients appear in order of weight — the first few tell you what the food mostly is.

You don't need to memorize anything. Just glance at serving size, calories, and added sugars, and you'll already be ahead of most shoppers.