You’re at the grocery store, trying to choose from an assortment of packaged foods. Which one has the lowest amount of fat? Which one has the most fiber? Which one has more vitamins and minerals? You want to make the best choice, so you flip the package over to read the nutrition label.
But if you don’t know what the information means or what to look for, nutrition labels can be confusing and overwhelming.
Ingredients First
The ingredient list is often a better indicator of a food’s true nutritional value, so before you examine the calories or fat content, take a look at the ingredient list.
For example, fat-free and reduced-fat foods are often laden with added sugars. Foods labeled as “No Trans Fat” may, in fact, contain the partially hydrogenated oils that have trans fat. To meet the criteria for labeling a product “No Trans Fat,” food merely has to contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving (more on serving sizes in a bit).
Because of these little tricks in labeling, reading the ingredients first will give you a more complete understanding of the information on the nutrition panel.
Ingredients are listed in descending order of quantity, or how much of a particular ingredient is in the product. The first three ingredients are the primary ingredients, meaning the product is made up mostly of those ingredients.
Let’s examine a popular brand of white bread. Based on the nutrition label, it’s a low-calorie, low-fat food. Great! But a look at the ingredients label might make you think twice: high-fructose corn syrup or sugar is one of the primary ingredients.
Serving Size and Calories
After you’ve read the ingredient list, move on to the nutrition facts label, starting with the serving size. A serving size is the recommend amount to be eaten at one time. Below the serving size, you will see how many servings are in the package. For example, a bag of chips may list a serving size as a particular number of grams, and in parenthesis, an approximate number of chips.
Next, take a look at the calories. Again, this is the calories per serving—not how many are in the entire bag! A serving of chips may be 180 calories, but if there are five servings in an 8 oz. bag of chips and you eat the entire bag, you’ve just eaten 900 calories.
Daily Value
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends limiting the grams of fat, cholesterol, and sodium. The percentages listed on the right hand side of the label indicate what percentage of your daily value of calories will come from the fat, cholesteral, and sodium contained in each serving.
It’s important to note that daily value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs, your daily values may be higher or lower.
With the carbohydrate content, focus on the amount of fiber and sugar—you want to choose foods high in fiber and low in sugar. Packaged foods often contain added sugars and sweeteners, so examine the ingredient list for the source of the sugar. Even if the label doesn’t say “sugar,” anything ending with “-ose” is sugar: fructose, sucrose, dextrose. Sugar goes by many names.
To ensure you are getting sufficient fiber, look for foods that have the word “whole” in front of any grain, such as “whole wheat flour” (not “wheat flour”). And be aware that foods labeled “multigrain” aren’t necessarily whole grain. “Multigrain” just means it contains many different grains.
Knowledge is Power
Now that you’ve gotten the run down on how to read nutrition labels and ingredient lists, you can be confident that you’re making informed decisions for your family.
The Labels, They Are A’ Changin’
While these nutrition labels have been in place since 1990, they’re getting a makeover soon. Read more about the proposed changes.
