Figuring out Food Labels

October 2024

Food labels can be confusing with the amount of information that they offer. So, what is it telling you?

- The ingredients in your food (check out our last email or our website for more information), this is where you will find the hidden sodium!

- Serving sizes: often there are multiple sets of numbers, one set is for the entire product and the other is for a portion of the product.

- Micro- and Macro- Nutrients: there are several that are important in managing both your blood pressure and other medical concerns such as diabetes.

Now that we are rounding out our nutrition educational series, let's see if we can see the bigger picture. Remember what we have learned about how sodium, preservatives, and fluid retention impact your blood pressure when looking at food labels. Happy Labeling!

Seeing the Serving Size

There seems to be a lot of numbers on food labels. What do they actually mean? The first thing you probably notice is that there are two sets of numbers on most labels; these are serving sizes. They refer to the quantities of nutrients you would be consuming based on how much you eat.

The serving sizes recommend how much of a product is considered an appropriate portion for a person, based on a set allowance of calories per day. It also specifies how many serving sizes or portions are included in a container. Why is this important?

Knowing your serving size is important when it comes to calculating things like your sodium, as many patients with hypertension try to maintain a low sodium diet.

Knowing your Nutrients

Macronutrients are fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. These are things that your body needs in larger quantities to maintain its vital functions. It is important to be able to identify these on your food label and use the appropriate serving size so that you can properly calculate carbohydrate and sugar intake. Having close management of diseases such as diabetes can help to slow the risk of progression of kidney disease as well as help to control your blood pressure.

Micronutrients are things like vitamins and minerals. These are still vital to maintaining the functionality of your body, but they are just needed in smaller quantities. These include things like sodium and potassium, which are important to track if you have hypertension or congestive heart failure. If you recall, excess sodium can cause fluid retention which can lead to higher blood pressure

Real Life Example

Let's look at this example of a nutrition label from a soup can.

1. This shows that there are two (2) servings per can. It also lets us know that each serving is one (1) cup.

2. This section shows where the nutrition facts are separated by serving and by container. Be sure to check the correct column!

3. This section shows the sodium per serving and per can. Remember: for patients with hypertension or kidney diseases, it is recommended to keep sodium intake at or below 2,000mg per day. This would be nearly 70% of your daily recommended intake for the whole day in one can of soup!

As mentioned in the previous month's education, sodium can be hidden in additives in your food. Listed here, we can see that Sodium Phosphate is present on the ingredients list on this soup can.

Additional Resources

Websites, Articles, and/or Videos

Nutrition Labels

Understanding the Label

Blog Posts

Community Events

Still Have Questions?

We love to empower through education. Click on the button below to visit our website to get answers to some common questions, previous education topics, as well as other helpful resources.