One of the very first steps in your nutrition journey is learning how to read and understand a nutrition label so you can accurately interpret and track what you are putting into your body. In this blog post, we look at a pantry staple: peanut butter. We will explore the nutrition label from top to bottom and explain each section of the nutrition label that is important when it comes to making informed food choices whethor you choose to track macros or not.
Serving Size
First and foremost, lets take a look at the serving size. The serving size in this example is 2 Tbsp or 32 grams. The remaining of the nutrition label all corresponds to that serving size. For example, if you have one serving size (2Tbsp or 32 grams) of Kirkland’s Organic Peanut Butter, you will consume 200 calories. If you have two serving sizes (4Tbsp or 64 grams), you will consume 400 calories. If you’re like me, it is crucial to weigh or measure out peanut butter. It is incredibly easy to eat more than 2 tbsp of peanut butter in one sitting and consume a boat load of extra calories.
Servings per Container
Another important piece of the nutrition label that you should look at is the servings per container. Many surgery drinks or packaged snacks look like they are “single serving” but often contain more than one serving per container. This means you could be eating 2 or even 3 times more than what you think you are eating simply by misreading the nutrition label. If you look back at the nutrition label, you will see that there are 25 servings in this jar of peanut butter.
Calories
The calories are listed per serving on a nutrition label. So, this is the number of calories you are consuming per serving! Calories are an important component when it comes to your nutrition goals whether that be to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight. Your weight is largely determined by the amount of energy (calories) you consume versus the amount of energy (calories) you burn.
Macronutrients
At Harberts Health, our nutitrition and performance coaching revolves primarily around macronutrient (macro) tracking. Macronutrients are essential nutrients that the body needs in large quantities to function. The amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats are what makes up macros.
Protein
Protein is a critical macronutrient as it is an essential building block of life. Protein not only makes up your muscles, but also our hair, skin, and bones. Protein promotes a healthy metabolism, satiety, and performance. In 1 gram of protein, there is 4 calories. If you look back at the nutrition label, you will see that there are 8 grams of protein per serving. Lets say you are trying to calculate how many calories are coming from protein in one serving of peanut butter, you would take 8 grams of protein and multiply that by 4 calories. In this example, there is 32 calories coming from protein in one serving of peanut butter.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy and are the source of energy to perform all activities throughout your day. You can calculate the amount of calories coming from carbohydrates in the exact same way that you calculated calories from protein. This is because in 1 gram of carbohydrates, there is also 4 calories. Look back at the nutrition label. In one serving of peanut butter, there is 7 grams of carbohydrates. Simply multiply 7 grams of carbohydrates by 4 calories per gram. This gives us 28 calories coming from carbohydrates in one serving of peanut butter.
Fats
Fats are also incredibly important in many necessary functions in the body like regulating hormones, repairing body tissues, and the absorption of fat soluble nutrients (vitamin a, d, e, and k). Fats also enhance our meals by adding flavor and help keep us satiated between meals. Calculating the calories coming from fats is a little bit different than protein and carbohydrates, but not by much. There is just a few more calories in each gram of fat. In 1 gram of fat, there is 9 calories. According to the nutrition label for peanut butter listed above, there is 16 grams of fat in one serving. If you multiply 16 grams of fat by 9 calories per gram you will get the amount of calories coming from fat in one serving of peanut butter. 144 calories are coming from fat in this example.
Ingredients
Another aspect of the nutrition label to consider is: the amount of ingredients. When it comes to the ingredient list, the shorter the list, the better. One tip for avoiding foods with long ingredient lists is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store. By doing this, you are filling the majority of your shopping cart with the freshest foods like produce, meats, and dairy.
What about foods without nutrition labels?
Pat yourself on the back! Foods without nutrition labels are oftentimes found around the perimeter of the grocery store and are foods that could be found out in nature like fruits, veggies, and meats. When we are tracking these foods, you still need to be able to track what you are putting in your body. In this case, broccoli is broccoli no matter where you are purchasing it from. Simply type “broccoli” into the search of your macro tracking application and a handful of options will populate.
Summary
Knowledge is power and knowledge comes from practicing reading nutrition labels. You wouldn’t hop in the car to drive blindfolded, so don’t eat without looking at the nutrition label! The beauty of tracking macros is that you can pretty much fit any food into a well-balanced diet as long as it is an appropriate amount.
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