When you look at a foods nutritional label what are you most concerned with?

I always give the nutritional information a check through. I do have some foods that I'm allergic to, and quite often I'll find a minute amount of it (so then I won't buy that food or risk the consequences!) I mostly look at the amount of salt and trans fats that is included in the food. Most of my elders had problems with high cholesterol and heart problems. I really don't want all those problems as I get older! I don't need to diet, so I am not as concerned about caloric content as much as the harmful stuff that goes way over the RDA for it.

The first thing I look at is the ingredients label. A food could be low in calories, fat, and sugar, and high in protein and fiber, and I still wouldn't consider it to be good for me if it contained an additive that is linked to cancer or diabetes or some other disease. For the most part, I do not buy products that contain artificial ingredients or ingredients that are known to cause health risks like MSG or high fructose corn syrup.

I look at the bad ones - saturated fats, corn syrup, high fructose, hydrogenated oil. I would not buy anything that contains these on food labels. Good post. Thanks.

Because I've never really needed to be on a diet, I've always ignored food labels, but when I do scan over them out of curiosity, fat and sugar always seems to catch my eye Some foods have surprised me at how high they are in fat and sugar

I usually look at protein first, then overall calories. If the protein content is high and the calories are at a reasonable level then I figure the rest should fall into place.

i looks straight to the unsaturated and saturated fat content if its high thin i dont buy the product unless i am planning for serious binge eating or when i am depressed or something. we have family history of hypertension so i usually avoid stuff like that

My eyes go straight to the saturated fat content! I do a lot of training at the gym so I need to be aware of the food and the fuel for my body so that I can train to maximum capacity and the last thing I want to do is to do all that hard work only to undo the good by eating saturated fat! I also look at the carb (non-sugar) content as well because its the carbs that provide the fuel for 2 hour work outs 3-4 times a week. Those are the two main things I am mainly concerned with, saturated fat and carb content.

Naturally, being a diabetic I look to see how many carbohydrates and fiber per serving are in the product. If it is high in carbs and low in fiber I wont eat it. I try to stay away from artificial sweeteners that contain cancer causing ingredients. I often wonder why they have so many useless ingredients in a product and why there is such a difference in each of them even if they contain the same food. I was told that the labels weren't always correct but was there for a guideline.

I would look for amount of fats and any trans-fat. Sometimes I am curious to know nutrients such as calcium, vitamin A and C which are usually in minute amount due to the destruction during the food processing. Other than the nutrition label, I also look at the ingredients list to see if partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil is used, because partial hydrogenated in fact produces trans-fat, so it's misleading when the label says it has no trans-fat. Other things to note include artificial preservatives, colorings, flavors.

I basically look at the same things as you. I check to see how big a serving is, how many calories are in that serving. I also worry a lot about fat content. I don't usually pay attention to the fiber, although that is a good idea. I also like to look at the vitamins that the product contains. I think vitamins are very important to a healthy diet.

basically it is the calories am looking at for i think i get enough fiber in a day and the fat grams is usually made complicated if one takes in a lot of calories in a day anyway so, yes, calories is the one thing i look at all the time in a food label. nice question. some people don't even have an idea that a food may come in a single pack yet is good up to 5 servings. the nutrition label tells us this also. very informative discussion .

i really dont look at the label, as long as its delicious and everyone eat it then ill go for it. though i didnt eat them often of course coz for me, all things will only become unhealthy or bad for you it you eat or use them to much.

Normally the fat, calories, sugar ans salt content. It is really amazing all the product that have sugar in and as the second ingredient! I do sometimes look at the fibre but I can normally be sure by rhe choice on the fibre content for example choosing wholemeal and wholegrain over white refined stuff I know it will be higher in fibre.

My top two things are calories and nutrient content- I have been told that the number of calories matters more than carb/fat content when it comes to weight loss and maintenance. I also like to see if those calories are "empty" considering how much viatmins and minerals food has.

I have borderline HBP, so I always look at the sodium content. To be heart healthy you should also check the "calories from fat" portion of the label. A food should not have more than 30% of it's calories from fat.