Have you ever found yourself in the supermarket with the best intention of making healthy selections, but didn't know where to start? Are your shopping habits and choices helping you eat more healthfully or hurting you? The key to stocking your cupboards with more healthy options starts with knowing how to read food labels to help you sort the bad from the good.

For many, decoding a food label can be like reading in Japanese. Knowing what to look for and what the label means, will aid you in quickly deciphering what is a good choice and what should be left behind on the supermarket shelf. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires all packaged food to contain accurate nutrition facts that pertain to serving size, calories per serving, fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, protein, and lastly vitamins and minerals.

All labels have the same standard format. Starting from the top and working down, the first thing to look at is serving size. For the product in question this line defines what a serving is and quantifies how many servings there are in a package. For example, it may state that one bar equals one serving and there are 2 bars per package, or that 1 cup equals a serving and there are three servings per container. The serving size can also be shown in ounces and other appropriate measurements. Moving down, the next bit of information shows the calories per serving and the number of calories from fat. It is important to pay close attention to the serving size. Ben and Jerry's number one flavor icecream, Cherry Garcia packs a calorie punch. The small pint size container shows one serving as a 1/2 cup. The line below that states there are 4 serving per container, but each serving contains a whopping 240 calories, with exactly half (120) of those calories coming from fat. So the next time you sit down with the intention of eating the whole pint, be aware that you are taking in 960 calories in one sitting.

The next section reports "% Daily Value" of total fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, and protein based on a typical 2,000 calorie per day diet, which varies from person to person. A small female may only need to consume 1,500 calories per day to maintain her weight, while a training marathon athlete may need to consume in excess of 3,500 calories per day. Revisiting the Cherry Garcia example, it indicates that the total fat is 14 grams. Based on the standard 2,000 calorie per day diet, if you eat one serving

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