Nutrition Labels Reading for Kids
How to Read a Nutrition Label

Nutrition labels reading for kids - It's very good to teach kids how to read a nutrition label - and to get them into the habit of always reading the nutrition facts label on packaged food. And in the future also on for example supplements. 

That way they can always understand what they are buying before they get something, it is also a good skill to have when they become teens and more independent shoppers, and even later in life.

Sometimes the text on the packages has very small font. I wonder what the point of that is. As we get older it is hard to read but kids can probably do it very easily.

I often have to take a picture of the label with my phone first, so I can blow it up and read it better that way!

How to Read a Nutrition Label

There are a few things that are more important to know that others when it come to reading labels. For example that the order the ingredients are listed in reveals how much of each it contains.

So if you see sugar as one of the first three ingredients, it means that this food contains a lot of added sugar.

Usually we also say that the shorter the ingredient list is, the better. Complicated compositions with lots of preservatives, colors and oils are hard for the body to recognize as a food anyway and that "food" will not give the body the nutrients it needs.

Also teach them to look out for the word hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated. This is a very unhealthy factory made fat. Saturated fat is also not very good.

The nutrition facts label that is placed on food packages tell us the percentage of the RDA or recommended daily allowance of some of the nutrients - vitamins, minerals, fats, sodium, cholesterol, calories, protein and fiber - the food contains per serving or sometimes per 100 grams.

So if the food has a weight of 200 grams, it tells you how much fat, calories and carbohydrates half of the food in the bag or box contains.
Fruits don't need a nutrition facts label :) All it needs to say is if they are organically grown or not and the country they are grown in.

Nutrition Labels Reading for Kids

The question 'how to read a nutrition label?' is a valid question, because it isn't so easy to understand food labels.

A good reason to teach children to read food labels is that the serving size is usually stated there. What you had thought was a single serving could sometimes actually be two servings or even more. It is not always easy to read these labels though!
This might help a little:

My child has seen me read labels all his life. Often he suggests for us to buy something but then I check the label and say "no, this one has preservatives in it" or something similar. Now I often see him checking out the label before asking me if we can buy it.

By the way, my website may earn affiliate commission when you go to a vendor through a link on my website. That way I get a little profit but you won't be paying any more than you usually would. All it does it help antonianyberg.com stay here and it helps me keep spreading my nutrition knowledge.

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› Nutrition Labels Reading for Kids

Article on Label Reading https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5903167/


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