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    4 min read 5 stepsMay 8, 2026Verified May 2026

    How to Read a Nutrition Label on Packaged Food

    Learn what every line on a nutrition label means and how to use it to make healthier choices at the grocery store.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Health & Wellness Tech
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    4 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    nutrition
    health
    food
    shopping
    wellness

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Start with the serving size
    2. 2.Check the calories
    3. 3.Watch the numbers your doctor cares about
    4. 4.Use the Percent Daily Value column
    5. 5.Read the ingredient list
    1

    Start with the serving size

    ~26s
    The very first line tells you how big one serving is and how many servings are in the container. This is the most important number. If the label says "Serving size: 1 cup" and "Servings per container: 3," then every other number on the label applies to ONE cup, not the whole package. Eating the whole bag means tripling everything you read.

    Warning

    Many small bags of chips or cookies look like a single serving but actually contain 2 or 3 servings.

    2

    Check the calories

    ~17s
    Right under the serving size, you will see calories per serving in big bold print. The FDA suggests roughly 2,000 calories per day for a moderately active adult, though seniors often need 1,600 to 1,800. As a rule of thumb: 100 calories per serving is moderate, 400 or more is high.
    3

    Watch the numbers your doctor cares about

    ~20s
    Sodium (salt) should stay under 2,300 mg per day, or 1,500 mg if you have high blood pressure. Saturated fat should stay under 20 grams per day. Added sugars should stay under 50 grams per day, ideally less. Fiber should reach 25 to 30 grams per day, so look for foods with 3 grams or more per serving.
    4

    Use the Percent Daily Value column

    ~21s
    On the right side, every nutrient has a percentage. This tells you how much of one day's allowance is in one serving. The quick rule: 5 percent or less is LOW, 20 percent or more is HIGH. Aim for low percentages of sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar. Aim for high percentages of fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium.
    5

    Read the ingredient list

    ~22s
    Below the nutrition box is the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed by weight, heaviest first. If sugar (or corn syrup, dextrose, or any word ending in -ose) is in the first three, the food is mostly sugar. Shorter ingredient lists with words you recognize are generally healthier choices.

    Quick Tip

    Apps like Yuka and Fooducate scan barcodes and grade foods automatically, which can help when you are still learning.

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    Every packaged food in the United States has a black-and-white box on the back called the Nutrition Facts label. The FDA updated this label in 2020 to make it clearer. But it can still feel like a wall of numbers. Learning to read it well is one of the most powerful health habits you can build, especially as you get older and your doctor talks more about sodium, fiber, added sugar, or cholesterol. This guide walks you through the label one line at a time, in plain English. You will learn what serving size really means (and why it matters more than any other number), how to spot hidden sugars, what the Percent Daily Value column tells you, and which numbers your doctor probably wants you to watch. We will also explain the new "added sugars" line, which separates natural sugar in fruit or milk from sugar that the manufacturer added. By the end of this guide, you will be able to glance at any package and decide in 30 seconds whether it fits your diet. You do not need to memorize anything. Keep this guide on your phone or print it out and bring it shopping a few times. After three or four trips to the grocery store, reading labels will feel natural. And you will feel more in control of your health. That is a wonderful feeling at any age.

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    health
    food
    shopping
    wellness

    Official Resources

    Medicare.govMedlinePlus — Health InfoAARP Health & Technology

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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