Food Labels and Serving Sizes

Whether or not you actually use them, food labels are printed on food packages to inform us of what we're eating. From calories to fat...to exactly how much of the food we should be eating...they're there because the government forced them to be. And that's actually a good thing. But are they truly easy to interpret? The opinions might be different. One thing we might all agree on—they're sort of boring, but rightfully so. I mean, it's the info that counts. But what if they looked a bit more...snazzy? UC Berkely and Good magazine put together a contest that asked such a question, the winners of which are shown below.

Snippits, of course. Check out the full versions, and check out those entries that didn't make the podium. They're all quite cool, and it'd be fun to see them on food packages. But, I'm not sure that's ever going to happen, so we'll just have to work with what we've got. Here's some help:

Want more? Click here for a further explanation of the above straight from the source, the FDA. And remember, this information really is important. Especially if you're trying to balance your diet with your workouts, etc. And if there's one thing you take away from those food labels, it's the serving size. It's so, super easy to overlook serving sizes, and it's what gets us all in trouble.

When was the last time you actually measured out your bowl of cereal? Odds would be fairly good that a single servings wouldn't be good enough, at least in your opinion, leading you to pour just a few more spoonfuls into that leftover milk. Some organizations think serving sizes are too small anyway. I guess you'll ultimately just have to use your noggin'.

Question: How conscious are you of nutrition labels? Do you think they make sense? What do you, do you not like about them?