The nutrition labels
Example: Macaroni and CheeseNutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup (228g) | ||
Amount Per Serving | ||
| Calories 250 Calories from Fat 110 | ||
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 12g | 18% | |
| Saturated Fat 3g | 15% | |
| Cholesterol 30 mg | 10% | |
| Sodium 470 mg | 20% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 31 g | 10% | |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% | |
| Sugars 5g | ||
| Protein 5g | ||
| Vitamin A 4% * Vitamin C 2% | ||
| Calcium 20% * Iron 4% | ||
| *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet | ||
You can figure out how much calcium is in foods you eat.
The two best ways are to read the nutrition labels or to
use the on-line data-base from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The nutrition labels show a "percent daily value" for calcium. The daily value used for these labels is 1000 mg. You might wonder why the value is not 1,200 mg. The daily recommendation for most adults is 1,000 mg, but for kids it is higher.
Actually, it is very convenient that the daily value for calcium is 1,000 mg, because this makes it easy to figure out how much calcium there is. You add a zero to the % daily value! So if a food label says one serving has calcium 20%, it has 200 mg of calcium. Remember to check the serving size on the top of the label; sometimes it is not what you would expect.
20% = 200 mg
Click on the hand for details
about studies of calcium in kids
The next page is about exercise
