The serving size on nutrition labels shows the amount of food typically eaten in one sitting and includes information on vitamins, minerals, fats, and other nutrients. Portion sizes are determined by nationwide surveys and are generally smaller than what many Americans eat. The food pyramid recommends one serving of each food group for a healthy diet.
A serving size is a tool used by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to measure food quantities. On the nutrition labels printed on most foods sold in stores, the serving size shows the nutritional information for the food. It will usually be a labeled portion of the food, and for that portion, the amounts of vitamins, minerals, fats, and other things are listed on the label. These labels are intended to compare the nutritional information of different but similar foods. The nutritional data represented per serving includes things like fat, sugar, calories, vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, and a number of other food products.
The serving size found on these labels represents the amount of food you would normally eat in one sitting. This information is determined by nationwide surveys in the United States, and portion sizes are provided in a variety of ways. Measurement methods include: cups and spoons for granular items; fractions for sliced items such as cake or pie; numbers for grouped items like cherries or grapes; and grams for other grouped items, such as grains.
Portions tend to be generally smaller than most Americans will eat at a meal or sitting, as many Americans tend to be unhealthy or at least slightly overweight. Examples include a cup of pasta; a cup of dry cereal; a hand-sized cut of steak; half a cup of milk; a quarter of a chicken breast; five cherry tomatoes; five celery sticks; one half of an apple; or one half of a banana.
In the food pyramid, a serving represents a daily nutritional recommendation for a healthy diet. The pyramid includes one serving of each type of food needed in a daily diet, including fruits, vegetables, meats, grains, sugars, oils, dairy products, and another group that includes poultry, fish, dried beans, eggs, and nuts. These guidelines are determined, according to the USDA, by considering normal portion sizes from food consumption surveys; comfort compared to normal measurement measures; nutrient content; and dimensions from previous guides.
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