What is the 5/20 rule for nutrition?

Have you heard of the 5/20 rule when it comes to reading food labels?  Most people haven’t, but it is an easy and handy rule to use.  Students in my class often ask what they are supposed to look for when reading food labels.  Food labels can be confusing so applying the 5/20 rule can help you decide what foods are healthy to eat. 

What is the 5/20 rule?

The 5/20 Rule has to do with the % Daily Value on Food Labels.  The % Daily Value shows you how much of a nutrient you are getting in each serving of that food.    

When you look at any food label you will “% Daily Value” and then a lot of numbers and %’s by various nutrients.  To paraphrase The Moxy Kitchen blog, “By the 5/20 Rule, a % Daily Value at or below 5% indicates a low amount of a nutrient in the food, whereas a % Daily Value at or above 20% indicates a high amount of a nutrient in that food.” 

In the 5/20 rule, what is the 5% or less?     

If any nutrients on the food label are 5% or less of the Daily Value, then the food isn’t high in that nutrient

We want some nutrients to be 5% or less.  For example, look for foods that have 5% or less of sodium.  Trying to keep sodium at 5% or less in the foods you eat, would be a good thing as Americans get too much sodium in their diets. 

In the 5/20 rule, what is the 20% or more?

When you look at food labels and you see a vitamin or mineral has 20% or more of the daily value, then that is considered a high amount of that nutrient and this is a good thing. 

Look down the food label for vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein providing 20% or more of the daily value and that would be considered a good contribution to your daily needs for that nutrient.  

How can you use the 5/20 rule to cut back on added sugars, total fat, and saturated fats?  

Look for foods that provide 5% or less of your daily value for sugars, but especially for added sugars.  We aren’t trying to cut back on the natural sugars in foods like the natural fructose in fruit or the natural lactose in cow’s milk.  But, we are trying to cut back on the “added sugars” manufacturers add to so many of the foods we buy.  The new food labels will more clearly state, “Added Sugars” so the consumer can now tell how much sugar a manufacturer added to a food. 

Cutting back on total fat and saturated fat is also good for one’s health.  We need some fat in our diets but most Americans get far more fat than they need each day.  Saturated fat has been linked to raising your blood cholesterol levels and increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke according to the American Heart Association.  So, watching for the % Daily Value of saturated fat would be a good thing to look for. 

New Food Labels will emphasize Vitamin D, Calcium and Potassium.  And now clearly state, "Added Sugars".

How can you use the 5/20 rule to beef up your protein intake?

Look for foods that supply 20% or more of the daily value of protein.  Meat, poultry, fish aren’t usually labeled for nutritional value but are very good protein choices.  Dairy foods like cow’s milk, yogurt and cheese provide high quality protein as do eggs.

What nutrients should you focus on for the 20%?

Americans aren’t getting enough calcium, potassium or vitamin D so finding foods like cows’ milk or yogurt that provide these nutrients is a healthy choice.  In fact, the new nutrition labels will be focusing on Calcium, Potassium and Vitamin D as these are nutrients of concern in the American diet.   No longer required on food labels are vitamins A and C but a manufacturer can still decide to put these on the food label package.  

This week:

This week when looking at food labels, skip the “natural”, “light”, “reduced” on labels and look at the food label to see what nutrients the foods you are eating provide.  How can you apply the 5/20 rule this week to the foods you eat? 

(And a special shut out to my sister who suggested this topic.) 

Sources:  5/20 rule, Daily Value,  The Moxy Kitchen,  Saturated fat, nutrition labels  Image sources:  know, Food label, rule label