Nutrition Facts?? Please Help!!

neome90
neome90 Posts: 420
in Food and Nutrition
I do not understand what it means when under the "Amount Per Serving" part on the nutrition facts labeling of foods it says " CALORIES FROM FAT" after it tells you the "CALORIES".??? :huh: It seems to be totally different from the facts listed below....such as , Total Fat , Cholesterol , Sodium , Total Carbohydrate , protein. I don't understand exactly. I mean, how does that count and where??:huh: Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated , and thanks!

Replies

  • neome90
    neome90 Posts: 420
    I do not understand what it means when under the "Amount Per Serving" part on the nutrition facts labeling of foods it says " CALORIES FROM FAT" after it tells you the "CALORIES".??? :huh: It seems to be totally different from the facts listed below....such as , Total Fat , Cholesterol , Sodium , Total Carbohydrate , protein. I don't understand exactly. I mean, how does that count and where??:huh: Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated , and thanks!
  • REB89
    REB89 Posts: 493 Member
    Amount per serving means that it had worked out how many calories, grams of fat, protein etc. there are per serving. For example on a jar of peanut butter it might say calories per serving : 100 caloires (just a guess lol) and then it will say 1 serving size is 2 tbsp. SO you know that in 2 tbsp there are 100 calories. It's just meant to help you so you don't have to work out the caloires from scratch using the nutrition information for the whole package (because you aren't going to eat the whole jar at once!). Does that help clear things up?
  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
    The measurement of calories then calories from fat are two readings. For the example rebecca gave of 2Tbsp being 100 calories then the next line would say of that 100 calories 80 are from fat (or, in this case, 80% of the calories in that item are fat based). Fats aren't all bad for you so that's why you then see each of the fats broken down into a measured value in grams for that 2Tbsp serving. You should know by now which are the good and bad fats so those are the two you should be looking to balancing in your diet. I hope that helps.
  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
    sorry, my computer got hung up with the site and I thought it didn't enter anything so I typed a new response. :blushing:
  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
    Using rebecca's example the of the 100 calories you may have half of that as fat or 50 calories per serving. You then see the fat broken down into their respective amounts in grams for Saturated, Trans Fats, etc. If you have power point ability on your computer go to this site to see how that's broken down further: www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/toolkit/label.ppt

    According to the government health guru's the goal is to stay below the total value of 100% for the fat values and for sodium and cholesterol based on a 2000 calorie a day diet.

    I hope this helps further.
  • may_marie
    may_marie Posts: 667 Member
    Hi there

    with the magic of the internet i found this helpful little page that explains it all very well.

    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/food-labels.php

    hope that helps
  • neome90
    neome90 Posts: 420
    Thank you so very much rebecca , rheston , and marie :happy: !! Your explanations and site directions have solved the big mystery for me! Now I will be able to make even more informed choices about the foods I will choose to eat. And rheston , I don't have power point yet , but , I have my husband working on it as I speak .(LOL) Once again , Thank you all so very much!! :flowerforyou:

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