Handout - Healthy Heart, Healthy Family, A CHW Manual

Session 7 Handout Read the Nutrition Facts Label for Sugar!

Nutrition Facts Labels tell you what you need to know about choosing foods that are lower in calories and sugar. Here is a food label for 100 percent grape juice. The label provides lots of useful information.

Amount per Serving - The nutrient amounts provided on the label are for one serving. If you have more than one serving, you will get more calories and other nutrients. For example, if you drink two servings (2 cups) of mango nectar, you will take in 460 calories and 100 grams of sugar.

Calories and Sugar - The amounts of calories and sugar in one serving.

Serving Size and Number of Servings - The serving size is 1 cup. There is one serving in this container.

Percent Daily Value - The Percent Daily Value helps you compare nutrient amounts in products. There is no Percent Daily Value for calories or sugar. Choose foods with the lowest amount of calories and sugar. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

The Choice Is Yours – Compare! Which one would you choose?

100% Mango Nectar
One cup of mango nectar has 230 calories and 50 grams of sugar.

Unsweetened Iced Tea
One cup of unsweetened iced tea has 5 calories and no sugar. You can learn a lot from a food label.

Unsweetened iced tea has fewer calories and no sugar. That makes the iced tea a better choice! Read Nutrition Facts Labels, and choose products to keep your heart strong.

Information on this page is taken from the English print version of “Healthy Heart, Healthy Family: A Community Health Worker's Manual.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, NIH Publication No. 08-3674, Originally Printed 1999, Revised May 2008.

Last Updated March 2012