Reading Nutrition Labels

Before your ulcerative colitis diagnosis, you may have eaten whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. You may not have felt well after some meals, but likely didn't know why. By now you know that food plays an important role in the way you live with ulcerative colitis. It's important to be aware of foods that may trigger symptoms, which foods to avoid and which are beneficial to your condition. While dairy products or spicy foods might not be easily tolerated by some, not all foods affect people with ulcerative colitis in the same way.

Nutrition Facts

Paying attention to the Nutrition Facts label on the foods you eat is important. Food labels can help you identify foods that may help or hinder your condition. They also help you choose foods high in the nutrients you want – like vitamins and minerals – and low in nutrients to avoid, like saturated fats. Food labels usually display information on ingredients, such as dairy, that may adversely affect people with UC. Let's start by looking at a food label, to see what it tells you line by line.

Nutrition Information

The top section of a food label shows serving information. You need that information to use the rest of the label properly. That's because what you might consider a portion of any given food might be more or less than the label's serving size. First read the Serving Size, then look at the Servings Per Container to see how many of those servings are in the entire package.

Next, you'll find the largest part of the label, the Amount Per Serving information. This section shows how many calories – and grams of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fiber, and protein – are in one serving.

To the right of those numbers is a column listing the % Daily Values. Those numbers show the percentage of daily recommended amounts for each nutrient contained in one serving. That percentage is based on a diet of 2000 calories a day. Depending on how many calories you need, your own Daily Values could be higher or lower. Generally speaking, 5% or less of fat, cholesterol, sodium, and protein per serving is low, and a % Daily Value of 20% or more total fat is relatively high. Below the Amount Per Serving list, you'll also find percentages for vitamins and minerals.

Ingredient Information

Food labels list the product's ingredients in order by weight. The ingredient used most is listed first. So if you're lactose-intolerant, you may want to limit your intake of foods with dairy products listed among the ingredients. Ask your doctor about which nutrients are right for you. Then use food labels to help you decide which foods to eat or avoid.

Comparing Food Labels

If you're new to reading food labels, you may find their numbers confusing. But don't worry. With practice, you'll see how easy and useful food labels can be. Nutrition Labels help you make quick, informed food choices that can contribute to a healthy diet. By comparing the labels on different foods or food brands, you'll begin to know which choices can be better for your overall health.