2,000 calories is the recommended daily amount for women and 2,500 is the recommended daily amount for men. Each daily value percentage is based on these caloric intakes. You may want to consume more calories every day if you're using more energy than the average person, but you may want to consume fewer than 2,000 calories if you're dieting. Change the way you interpret the daily values based on how many calories you're trying to consume every day. If you're trying to cut down on calories, 20% of your daily value in fat is high. If you're trying to consume more calories every day, 20% may be on the lower side. Keep your fat intake under 100% of the recommended value. 65% is a healthy number to shoot for, but you may want to consume a little more if you're low on energy or trying to build muscle mass. Saturated fat should account for less than 7% of your daily caloric intake. Butter, oils, pastries, and red meat tends to be high in saturated fat. Avoid eating these foods more than once a day. Try to only consume around 65% of your daily value in cholesterol and try to eat foods that are low in LDL or VLDL. HDL foods include fruit, fish, beans, and whole grains. Consuming a single fast food meal or large steak can single-handedly send you over 100% of your daily value in cholesterol.  An easy way to consume good cholesterol is to replace red meats with fish and use olive oil instead of salad dressing. Your cholesterol intake should never exceed 300 mg a day. 20% of your daily value in sodium (per serving) is considered high. This means that with 3 meals in a day, you should keep your sodium intake under 60%. If you can't, try to avoid exceeding 100% of your daily value (2,300 milligrams). Pizza, hot dogs, breads, and processed meats tend to be extremely high in sodium, so avoid these foods whenever you can. Avoid adding salt to meats and eggs when you're cooking. Adding salt to a dish is the easiest way to go over 100% of your recommended daily value. If you eat 2,000 calories a day, avoid getting under 900 or more than 1,300 calories from carbohydrates a day. If you don't eat enough carbohydrates, you'll feel lethargic as your blood sugar drops. If you eat too many, you can gain weight and feel bloated throughout your day. Vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products are excellent sources of carbohydrates. You need at least 25 grams of fiber every day to come from the food you consume. An easy way to reach this goal is to consume at least 1 serving of whole grains with every meal that you eat. Fruit and vegetables tend to be high in fiber as well. While 25 grams is 100% of the recommended value, 30 grams of fiber is a good goal if you eat more than 2,000 calories a day. Sugar can be tricky because you want some natural sugars in your diet, but added sugars should be avoided at all cost. Most fruits contain a little natural sugar, and can provide a healthy snack or side dish.  There is no daily recommended value for sugar. Added sugars include artificial sweeteners and corn syrups. Look for “sugar free” on food containers to ensure that you're eating food with no added sugars. This label doesn't mean that there isn't any natural sugar in it though. Proteins do not have a daily value listed because where they come from is more important than how much protein there is. Generally speaking, the threshold for protein intake is generally 25-35 grams per meal. Get your protein from sources that are low in cholesterol and fat, like fish, grains, beans, and vegetables. Protein is essential when it comes to promoting healthy muscle growth and maintaining a good energy level throughout your day. When it comes to nutrients, 5% or less is considered low and 20% or higher is considered high. This means that an item that lists its fat content at 4% can be considered to be low fat. However, if there are 6 servings in the item and you plan on eating the entire thing, the fat content will suddenly become high (at 24%). Keep in mind that you do not need to consume 100% of a daily value of bad nutrients to stay healthy.  100% of a daily value is a limit, not a goal. Trans fat and saturated fat are listed separately under fat because they're especially bad for you. Avoid these fats whenever possible. Vitamin A, C, iron, and calcium are all good for your body. 100% of the daily value in these nutrients is a minimum, not a threshold. Dried fruits, nuts, grains, yogurts, and vegetables all tend to be high in these nutrients. You can also take supplements to make sure that you get at least 100% of these nutrients every day. On boxes or cans with bigger labels, there is a section all the way at the bottom that contains footnotes on the total recommended amounts of each item on the list. The column on the left is based on a daily diet of 2,000 calories, and the column on the right is for 2,500 calories. The 2 biggest offenders when it comes to unhealthy ingredients are added sugars and high fructose corn syrup. Check the ingredients list for these items when scanning a food label and try to avoid them whenever possible.  The ingredients list will literally say “added sugars.” The word “sugar” is used to refer to natural sugars and aren't necessarily bad for you. Less than 5% of your daily caloric intake should come from added sugars.
Interpret daily values based on the recommended caloric intake. Eat less than 100% of your daily value in fat every day. Keep your cholesterol as low as you can and opt to consume foods high in HDL. Aim to consume under 60% of your daily value in sodium. Keep carbohydrates to 45-65% of your caloric intake. Get at least 25 grams of fiber every day to promote digestive health. Keep sugar under 5% of your daily caloric intake and avoid added sugars. Get 25-35 grams of protein per meal from a healthy source. Know that 5% of a daily value per serving is low and 20% is high. Get at least 100% of your daily value in vitamins and minerals. Use the table at the bottom of larger containers as reference. Limit how often you consume foods with added sugars or high fructose corn syrup.