Nutrition labels 101
Making the best food choices can seem like an impossible task – especially if you’re dieting. Aisle upon aisle at the grocery store you’ll see countless foods, many of which claim to be healthy, low fat, low sugar, gluten-free, and more.
The Food and Drug Association (FDA) requires food manufacturers to label every packaged food with all ingredients, serving size, and sugar, fiber, fat, carbohydrates (and more) per serving. This is great in theory, but most processed foods contain so many ingredients, and many of these ingredients are tough to read and understand, that knowing what’s really in our food can be very difficult. And knowing what’s in our food is one of the most important ways to ensure we fill our plates with the type of food that nourishes our bodies and encourages optimal health. So what’s the answer? How can you decipher food labels to make the right choices?
Parts of a nutrition label
There is a lot of information on every food label. Although many people need a magnifying glass to read these labels, much of the information you need to make decisions about what to eat (and not eat) is available on all food packaging.
Serving size and servings per container – The top of every nutrition label includes the serving size and the servings per container. This information gives you a basis for evaluating the rest of the food label. You’ll notice that many food manufacturers will bottle or can multiple servings into one container (that most people consider a single serving). For example, a bottle of soda or sports drink is often 2 or more servings. It looks and feels like it should be a single serving, but it’s not. So when you look at the calories on the bottle, you also have to realize that you’re consuming more than one serving (and thus must multiply the calories and other nutrition information by the number of servings in the container).
The rest of the numbers on the label are (usually) per serving. So remember that when doing your math. Here are the parts of most food labels:
- Calories (total calories and calories from fat) – This part of the label tells you how many calories each serving has and how many of those calories come from fat.
- Total Fat – Total fat is the number of fat grams per serving. There are different types of fat. Some are good for you and some aren’t. The two types of fat that are usually broken down on food labels are saturated fats and trans fats. Both of those fats are considered unhealthy fats.
- Cholesterol – While we all need some cholesterol in our diets, there is a limit to what we should eat in a normal day. If you eat too much cholesterol, you will be at higher risk for high blood cholesterol and problems that can go along with it, such as heart disease and obesity.
- Sodium – Our bodies need sodium; however, there is so much in most processed foods, and too much sodium can have several negative effects. Canned foods are notorious for having lots of sodium, as are bottled sauces, salty snacks, and processed foods. Most nutritionists recommend watching your sodium intake carefully because too much sodium in your diet is dangerous. It can lead to high blood pressure and many related health conditions.
- Total carbohydrates – With all the fad diets focused on cutting carbs, you’ve probably heard a lot about carbs. But do you know where to look for them? Do you know the difference between healthier complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates? Food labels will help you understand how many carbohydrates are in your food and how much fiber and sugar are included as well. As a general rule, the more fiber and the less sugar there is in the carbohydrate, the better it is for your body. Under the carbohydrate listing on food labels, you will the following as well:
- Protein – A healthy, balanced diet must include protein. You can get protein from many sources. Some of the foods that are high in protein are meats, eggs, dairy products, beans, nuts, and legumes. Some vegetables are also relatively high in protein.
- Vitamins and minerals – These nutrients are vital for your health. Most food labels won’t list many vitamins and minerals and will instead just list a few. If the food you’re looking at doesn’t have any (or many) vitamins or minerals, you might want to consider something else.
Each label will also include the percent of recommended daily value for each of the above. So you will be able to see how many grams of fat, sugar, protein, fiber, etc. you’ll be eating and what percentage of your recommended daily value (based on a 2500 calorie diet) each makes up. So, if your recommended daily value of fat is 50 grams and one serving of the food item in question has 25 grams of fat, the label should tell you the percent of daily value is 50%.
How nutrition labels can guide food decisions
Knowledge about our food is power. And while nutrition labels can be daunting, they are excellent tools in the quest to make healthy decisions about what you eat and drink.
The truth is, most of the food you should eat will not come with nutrition labels. Fresh fruits and vegetables are your best friends when you’re trying to improve your health and lose weight, and unless they are pre-packaged, they won’t have food labels on them. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat them – you definitely should.
While fresh foods are your best bet, it’s not realistic to think that you’re going to be able to eat a diet entirely made up of fresh foods. Most people rely on grocery stores for every meal. And with so many choices, picking the best foods for you can be overwhelming. As you go through the grocery aisles, remember to read labels. When you’re buying bread, look for breads with whole grains as the first ingredient. Whole wheat, rye, and oats are all good options for breads. There are many multi-grain breads that are also better choices than breads made with white or bleached flour.
As a rule, the fewer the ingredients in any processed food, the better it is for you. If the food label lists ingredients you can’t easily pronounce, it might be better to leave it on the shelf.
Something else to consider is the ratio between total carbohydrates, fiber, and sugar. If a food is high in carbohydrates but also high in fiber and low in sugar, it’s better than a food with lots of carbohydrates, little fiber, and lots of sugar.
Saturated fats are okay in moderation, but you should try to limit them to your recommended daily allowance. If you have high cholesterol or heart disease, your doctor may want you to limit saturated fats even more. Trans fats are not good for anyone, and there isn’t much benefit in eating them. So, check the fat content in your food and pay attention to whether there are a lot of saturated fats or trans fats.
If you’re reading food labels and eating a healthy, balanced diet of recommended foods and you’re still struggling to lose weight, you may be a candidate for a medical weight loss program like the one offered at Beaumont. Call 800-633-7377 to request an appointment.