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Nutrition

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Comparing Nutrition Labels
Nutrition labels are intended to help people make healthier choices when it comes to the food they eat. Consumers recognize nutrition labels as tools to help improve their health and can find an abundance of valuable information pertaining to specific items. The presence of nutritional information may influence the consumer to switch from unhealthy food products towards healthy food products, but only if they understand how to read a nutrition label. Reading a food label at first can be confusing, however it will help the consumer to select foods that will provide the accurate amount of nutrients and energy that the body needs. There are specific things to look for on a food label that can differentiate an unhealthy food from a healthy food. When comparing an avocado to Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream, we know that an avocado is the healthier choice, but it is important to understand why.
When comparing nutrition labels, the first place you should start is the serving size and the number of servings in the package. Serving size is used to make it easier to compare similar foods. The serving size on a package affects the number of calories and all nutrient amounts within the product. For example, the serving size for an avocado is based on 1/5 of a medium avocado, or 1 oz. With such a small portion size, an avocado is packed with vitamins, minerals, and essential. Conversely, Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey nutrition label offers a much larger serving of ½ cup, with 4 servings total in a pint of ice cream. Although the nutritional information of the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream pertains to a larger serving, ice cream does not contain nearly as many beneficial nutrients as an avocado.
Another important point to focus on when looking at a nutrition label is the calories and calories from fat. Calories provide a measure of how much

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