One bottle. Two servings. How much did you actually drink?
The number on the label may describe only part of what is in your hand.
GOT 30 SECONDS?
The short answer
Check whether the nutrition numbers are per serving, per 100ml or per bottle. Then match them to the amount you drink. One container does not always mean one serving.
The bottle looks like one decision
You grab a cold drink, glance at its sugar figure and finish the bottle on the drive home. But did that figure cover the whole bottle? The important words may have been sitting above the number.
A ten-second calculation
Imagine a 500ml bottle with 6g of sugar per 100ml. The whole bottle contains 30g. If another label says 12g per 250ml serving and the bottle holds 500ml, finishing it means 24g. These are example labels: the calculation changes with the actual bottle.
Serving size is a reference, not your appetite
The FDA explains that a US nutrition-label serving is not a recommendation for how much to consume, and a package can contain several servings. Labels differ across markets. Wherever you shop, read the unit attached to the number.
Make a fair comparison
Use the same volume when comparing two drinks, then calculate the total for the bottle you plan to finish. A smaller per-serving number may simply reflect a smaller stated serving. Do not make the packaging’s portion size your portion size by accident.
TAKE THIS WITH YOU
Before judging the number, ask: per what? Then count what you actually drink.
Sources
Used to check the facts in this story.
