Label Reading Tips

My Facebook post yesterday inspired me to write a blog with a few tips on how to read labels.  I’m a bit of a label nazi.  I ALWAYS read labels on foods that I haven’t purchased before.  I have my weekly grocery list of foods that I already know the ingredients, but if there is ever a sale on an item that is a different brand than the one I buy, the first thing I’ll do is compare the ingredients and labels.  Yesterday I had posted a picture of 2 different “natural” peanut butters at the grocery store to show an example of why it is important to read your labels.  One of the peanut butter’s had sugar and other things in the ingredient list while the other was 100% natural and just contained peanuts.  The point of the post was to show people that it’s so important to read your labels and ingredients.  Just because a food is claiming to be healthy or natural, certainly doesn’t mean it is.  Here is my list of quick tips when it comes to reading labels.

1.  Don’t always believe the package.  There are so many food items that will say “healthy”, “low fat”, “fat free”, “no trans fat” etc.  These marketing tactics are used to draw your attention to purchase the item.  A lot of times when something is “low fat” or “fat free” such as dressings, they will contain more sugar.

2. Know your fats.  As listed above, one label you might come across is “no trans fat”.  But companies do not have to report the amount of trans fat on a food label if it doesn’t reach a certain amount.  So, how can you tell if your food contains trans fats?  The ingredients!  If your ingredients list has hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, that’s trans fat! Also, limit saturated fats. 

3. Limit foods with added sugar.  Added sugar is in many foods you probably don’t think about.  Salad dressings, pre-made soups, cereals, sauces, seasonings etc.  If you use a lot of these items, try looking for items that contain less grams of sugar per serving.  (We all know we use more than 1 serving, so do your math).  Also, be aware of hidden names for sugars.  An ingredient list might not have sugar, but there are many names for it.   A few examples: dextrose, fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, sorbitol, xylitol, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin etc.  Be aware of “sugar free”.  Sugar free could mean it has Aspartame, a nasty sugar substitute.

  4. Choose whole grains over processed.  When it comes to breads and pastas, your better choices are whole grains.  Look for it to say 100% whole grain.  Once again, look at your ingredient list.  If it says whole grain on the package, it may not be.  Also, choose whole grain breads and pastas with a higher fiber content to ensure slower digestion. 

5.  Stick with a short ingredient list.  Ingredients are listed in order of what the food contains most of.  You want your first few ingredients to be unprocessed recognizable ingredients.  If the food contains a long list of ingredients, many of which you cant even pronounce, just place it back on the shelf.  If you can’t recognize the words, chances are your body won’t know what it is either. 

6. Minimize sodium intake.  Sodium intake should be limited to less than 2,300 mg/day, and less for higher risk populations.  Many processed foods will have a high sodium content, so make sure not to ignore it.

7. Don’t ignore serving sizes.  It’s important to understand your serving sizes, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.  Most of us eat more than the serving size, which can make the calories add up quickly.  For example, if a serving size of a food item was 1, and your calories per serving size were 130 but you ended up having a portion that was 3 servings, you’ve now consumed 390 calories.  If this was a food item that you were having as a snack, you can see where it can start to add up.

Hopefully this list will help some of you make better choices during your next trip to the grocery store!  A lot of times you’ll hear people say to “shop the perimeter” of the store.  While a lot of natural whole foods are located around the perimeter, there are plenty of foods that are okay for us that are located in the aisles as well.  You just have to know what to look for.