How to Read Food Labels
Learning to read food labels is so important for making healthy food choices.
There are two parts to the label: the nutrition facts (which are somewhat helpful); and the ingredient list (which is very helpful). Let's break these apart.
Nutrition Facts
The main thing is to look at the total calories and serving size. A bag of chips may have 3 servings, but who shares? The calorie count is per serving, so you want to multiply the serving size by the calories to get the true amount you are eating.
Look at the total carbohydrates and carbohydrates from sugar. It is amazing how much added sugar is in some foods. Some spaghetti sauces have as much sugar as cookies. There should be less than 10 grams or just consider it dessert! I look back at all the times I fed my poor children some of those sugary cereals, and it makes me want to cry. Well, we all have to learn!
Look at the fiber count for reference. Women need about 25 grams a day, and men need about 30 grams a day.
Here are some examples of two different marinara sauces. Notice the first brand has no added sugar. About 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon.
This brand has 6 grams of added sugar, which adds up. Not to say I don't ever eat anything with added sugar, I just watch it. It is one way to compare brands.
Ingredient List
This is the real place to look for what you are actually eating. There are a few tricks that will help you to keep out of trouble.
The list is in order of quantity. If you see sugar or salt as the first ingredient, then you probably don't want to eat it.
Choose real food. If the words on the label are something you don't recognize or can't pronounce, are in Latin, or sound like some science project, then put it back.
Look for five ingredients or less as a general rule. Some new healthier products may have more, but the list is real food and not additives.
Don't buy anything with high fructose corn syrup, MSG or trans fats/hydrogenated fats (I will go more into these in a later post!)
Be careful of pseudonyms for sugar. There are so many different names for hidden sugar. Read carefully.
Be careful of health claims and anything that sounds too good to be true (It usually is too good to be true!). For example, there are some sweetened yogurts that have more sugar in them than a soda and some granola bars have so much sugar they are really a candy bar. I don't care how healthy the label says it is.
Here is the first marinara sauce ingredient list.
It is amazing what you can learn from a label!
Notice no latin or scientific words. Everything is real food !! By the way, this is my favorite go to bottled marinara sauce.
Here are two more examples of granolas and overnight oats, respectively. The both have more than five ingredients, but look at the list of REAL WHOLE FOODS.
I know this one has lots of sugar, but it is soooo good! Ok, it is sort of dessert!
I hope this helps and take some of the mystery off label reading. Practice next time you go to the grocery store. It is kind of fun after a while and gets easier each time. The main thing is to know what you put in your body and be informed. I especially tell my patients with children to start being aware of what you are feeding them and yourself. FOOD IS MEDICINE.
All material gathered and researched through my amazing fellowship program, The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.
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