The numbers mean nothing to you
Grams and percentages, but no sense of a lot or a little.
Courses
Start with three things you can do today
How to read nutrition labels
Read a food label quickly and compare products fairly.
Learn what serving size, per 100g figures, percent Daily Value and the ingredients list tell you, how UK traffic lights and US Nutrition Facts labels differ, and how to compare two products in under a minute. The course stays educational and leaves medical diets to a dietitian.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to understand food labels when I shop. I look at the numbers on the back of a packet and have no idea whether they are a lot or a little, or what a serving even means. Help me read labels quickly and compare products.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Four things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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Check the serving size first
On a US Nutrition Facts label, every number refers to one serving. If a bag lists 150 calories per serving and 2.5 servings per container, eating the whole bag is 375 calories. Compare the stated serving with the amount you actually eat.
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Use the 5 and 20 guide on US labels
The FDA describes 5% Daily Value or less per serving as low and 20% or more as high. Look for higher figures for nutrients such as fibre and calcium, and lower ones for saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
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Use per 100g figures on UK labels
NHS guidance says more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g is high and 5g or less is low; for salt, more than 1.5g is high and 0.3g or less is low. A cereal with 12g of sugars per 100g sits in the middle, which is amber on a traffic light label.
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Read the first three ingredients
Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight, so the first few make up most of the product. If sugar or a syrup is near the top, it is a major ingredient. If you follow a medical diet, use your dietitian's targets instead of general thresholds.
Sources: FDA: how to understand and use the Nutrition Facts label; NHS: how to read food labels. Practical examples are starting points, not promised results.
- Best for
- Health & fitness
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- Which country do you shop in, so the course uses the right label format?
- What do you most want to keep an eye on: sugar, salt, fat, fibre, protein, or something else?
- Do you follow a diet set by a doctor or dietitian that the course should respect?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You choose by the front of the pack
Words like light or natural do the deciding.
You shop for someone else
A child, a parent or a partner with particular needs.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Serving size and portions
What the label assumes you eat, and what you actually eat.
Per 100g comparisons
Comparing like with like across brands and pack sizes.
Traffic lights and Daily Values
How UK and US labels signal high and low.
Sugars, salt and fats
Total versus added sugars, salt versus sodium, and saturated fat.
The ingredients list
Order by weight, and the many names sugar goes by.
Front-of-pack claims
What to check behind words like light, reduced or natural.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Read serving information
See what amount the numbers describe and scale it to what you actually eat.
Judge a lot or a little
Use per 100g thresholds or percent Daily Value.
Compare two products
Pick the better option for your goal in under a minute.
Ideas this course corrects
The calories shown are for the whole pack
Often they are per serving, and a pack can hold several servings. Check the servings per container or use the per 100g column.
Any red traffic light means a food is a bad choice
Traffic lights help you compare similar products, but a food sits within your whole diet. How often and how much you eat it matter too.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
How to read nutrition labels: what can I do today?
Check the serving size first. On a US Nutrition Facts label, every number refers to one serving. If a bag lists 150 calories per serving and 2.5 servings per container, eating the whole bag is 375 calories. Compare the stated serving with the amount you actually eat. Use the 5 and 20 guide on US labels. The FDA describes 5% Daily Value or less per serving as low and 20% or more as high. Look for higher figures for nutrients such as fibre and calcium, and lower ones for saturated fat, sodium and added sugars. Use per 100g figures on UK labels. NHS guidance says more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g is high and 5g or less is low; for salt, more than 1.5g is high and 0.3g or less is low. A cereal with 12g of sugars per 100g sits in the middle, which is amber on a traffic light label. Read the first three ingredients. Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight, so the first few make up most of the product. If sugar or a syrup is near the top, it is a major ingredient. If you follow a medical diet, use your dietitian's targets instead of general thresholds.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
Learn what serving size, per 100g figures, percent Daily Value and the ingredients list tell you, how UK traffic lights and US Nutrition Facts labels differ, and how to compare two products in under a minute. The course stays educational and leaves medical diets to a dietitian. It sits under Health & fitness in the Life & growth part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to understand food labels when I shop. I look at the numbers on the back of a packet and have no idea whether they are a lot or a little, or what a serving even means. Help me read labels quickly and compare products.