Calcium
Foolin' Around with Food Labels
Reading the Nutrition Facts Panel (otherwise known as the food label) on a package is a great way to tell how healthy or unhealthy it is. This can help you make healthy food choices. But how do you know what to look for? Learn how to read food labels on a package.
Adding Up the Calcium
Now you know how to read the food label, but finding out how much calcium is in a food can be trickier. We know that girls ages 9-18 need 1,300 milligrams of calcium every day. However, Nutrition Facts labels don't show how many milligrams of calcium are in a food item. Instead, they show the amount of calcium in a food as a percentage of the Daily Value (written as %Daily Value or %DV).
To figure out milligrams on a food label, look at % Daily Value for calcium. Then just add 0 to the end of that number! Note: This calculation works only for calcium, not for other nutrients on the food label.
Girls need 130% DV for calcium every day. 130% Daily Value is the SAME amount as 1,300 milligrams of calcium.
| If the food label says... | Then one serving has about this much calcium... |
|---|---|
| 2% Daily Value | 20 milligrams |
6% Daily Value |
60 milligrams |
| 20% Daily Value | 200 milligrams |
| 40% Daily Value | 400 milligrams |
| 45% Daily Value | 450 milligrams |
Content last updated September 2009
E-mail this to your BFF
