[Muffie's Mom]

Reading food labels will help you choose foods low in saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, and calories. Food labels have two important parts: nutrition information and an ingredients list.

Read the nutrition information.

Look for the amount of saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, and calories in a SINGLE serving of the product. Compare similar products to find the one with the least amounts. If you have high blood pressure, do the same for sodium.

Look at the ingredients.

All food labels list the product's ingredients in order by weight. The ingredient in the greatest amount is listed first. The ingredient in the least amount is listed last. So, to choose foods low in saturated fat or total fat, limit your use of products that list any fat or oil first--or that list many fat and oil ingredients. If you are watching your sodium intake, do the same for sodium or salt.