READ THE LABEL!

Do you check the label on the packages you buy? How often do you do it? Do you know how to read them? It is important you do so, not only because you'll know what you are introducing into your body, but it will also help you choose between different products. Here are a few considerations to help you through it.

Nutrition facts labels usually include: 

1. Serving size and servings per container. Packages may contain more than one serving. If so, it is stated on the label along with its size. Pay particular attention to this section since the nutritional information that follows refers to only one serving. 
2. Calories are a measure of the energy that each serving will provide to your body. Moreover, they are an easy way to control your diet and manage your weight. 
3. Fat, cholesterol and sodium are "the bad stuff", so make sure this section is as low as possible. Good fat (nuts, vegetable oil) is vital for our body, but don't exceed. Keep in mind that 1g of fat is 9 calories (kind of high compared to the 4 of carbs and proteins).
4. Fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals are good for you, so the more you eat them, the healthier you'll be. The best carbs are those from whole grains, vegetable and fruit since they need a longer process to digest and they contain a good amount of fibers. Also, make sure you'll get enough protein, which helps your body regenerate tissues. Vitamins help you prevent diseases and stay healthy.
5. The percentage of daily value considers a 2000 calorie diet, which is what an avarage adult man burns every day. However, it changes from person to person depending on age, gender, weight, height and exercise level. If you want an estimate of yours, you can calculate it by clicking here.

One more section we highly recommend you to read is the ingredients, which includes all the ingredients of the product in descending order of quantity. You may check the list to look for a special ingredient, to avoid food you are allergic to or just to be aware of what it contains. The less preservatives, colorants and artificial flavours, the better. Also, bare in mind that some ingredients go by different names (e.g. sodium can be salt, disodium, monosodium glutamate just to name a few). The ingredient lists also include the percentage of each ingredient. If you want to buy a strawberry yogurt and it only contains 1% strawberries, is it really good?

Some products don't have a nutritional facts label? No problem. Online you can find many webpages that can provide that information. Here is an example.