Close-up of a person in a grocery store holding a bottle of cooking oil and reading the nutritional label.

Making Sense of Food Labels

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requires a nutrition facts label on most packaged foods and drinks to help you understand more about what you’re buying, but it can be confusing and misleading if you don’t know what you’re reading.

When you pick up a package at the grocery store, it’s often covered with information, percentages, and ingredients that can be hard to understand. What does “light” mean? Is this product really “a good source of protein or fiber?” What are these strange words listed under ingredients?

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requires a nutrition facts label on most packaged foods and drinks to help you understand more about what you’re buying, but it can be confusing and misleading if you don’t know what you’re reading.

Learn more about food label basics, what information you should pay attention to, and how to use a food label to make healthier choices at the grocery store.

Food Label Basics

Whether it’s bread, ketchup, juice, or a box of crackers, most foods and drinks have a food label with several key pieces of information. To make the best decisions for your health, check out guidance from the FDA as well as the National Institute on Aging on how to navigate a food label.

Serving size–Serving size lets you know how much of the food or drink you’re “expected” to consume, which affects all the other information on the label. For example, if the serving size for your favorite cereal is one cup and you consume three cups for breakfast, you’re getting three times the amount of calories, fat, and sugar listed.

Percent daily value (%DV)–The %DV on a food label tells you how much a nutrient in a serving contributes to a total daily diet. For example, if a serving of crackers has a 2%DV of dietary fiber, it means that it contains 2% of the fiber most people should get in a day. This number is based on a 2,000-calorie diet, which was created as a guide for general nutrition advice. Some individuals may need more or less calories depending on age, weight, height, activity level, and more. Experts say that a food or drink with 5%DV or less of a particular nutrient is considered low and a product with more than 20%DV of a particular nutrient is considered high. So, when you’re choosing foods, aim for 5% DV or less for things like sodium, saturated fat, or cholesterol, and for nutrients like calcium or fiber, search for products that are 20%DV or higher.

Sugars–On food and drink labels, you’ll often see “total sugars” and “added sugars.” Total sugars include sugars naturally present in many foods and beverages, such as the sugar found in milk or fruit, as well as any added sugars that may be present. Added sugars are sugars increased during the food processing to sweeten them. For example, a container of yogurt may list “Total sugars 15g, includes 7g of added sugars.” This means the product has 7 grams of added sugar and 8 grams of naturally occurring sugar for a total of 15 grams.

Saturated fats and trans fats–Not all fats are bad, so focus on these two, which can raise cholesterol levels and increase your risk for heart disease. No trans fats are recommended within your diet and no more than 10% of your calories should come from saturated fats.The index finger points at the fat content listed on the nutrition panel of a prepackaged cereal.

Sodium–Too much sodium is linked to high blood pressure, and high levels are often found in processed or packaged foods. Avoid products with lots of sodium (which may be listed as salt, sodium benzoate, or disodium) and look for words like “low sodium” or “no added salt” instead. Try to pick products that allow you to stay below the recommended daily amount of 2,300mg a day.

Seed oils–Canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, and others are extracted from seeds. Some (0.2%) of linoleic acids found in seed oils are converted into arachidonic acid, which is a precursor to other chemicals that cause inflammation in the body. It is also a precursor for chemicals that fight inflammation. Today, Americans take in 10 times more omega-6 fatty acids (possibly unhealthy) than omega-3 fatty acids (healthier) found in fatty fish, nuts, and flax. Previously, the ratio was 1:1. Scientific evidence is not yet definitive on whether seed oils are overall healthy or harmful.

Ingredient lists–The ingredient list can help you figure out what’s in your food or drink. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the first few ingredients make up more of the product and the last ingredients make up the least. If there are several words on the ingredient list you don’t understand, you may try to search for a product that contains more that you do understand. The American Heart Association offers additional details about reading ingredient lists, including the “other names” that are often listed for sugar, trans fats and sodium.

Tips for Using a Food Label

  • Use the food label to compare products. For example, if you’re looking to lower your sugar consumption, use the food label to compare two bottles of ketchup or salad dressing and opt for the one with less sugar. If you’re picking out a cereal, look for one that has more than 20%DV of fiber or whole grains listed as one of the first ingredients.
  • Look at serving size. You may find your plate of pasta is actually three servings worth or the bag of chips you ate was six servings instead of one. Serving size even matters when it comes to healthy snacks. For example, a serving of nuts can be a healthy snack, but if you eat a huge bowlful, you may end up with way too much fat and calories.
  • Beware of marketing tricks. Some health claims written on a package front can be misleading, so take a moment to flip the package around and read the food label. For example, the front of a bag of chips may say “40% less fat,” which may feel healthy, but the food label may reveal it’s still high in calories and sodium. A “low carb” cracker might have a serving size so small that you’re actually eating way more carbs than you thought.
  • Don’t get bogged down. You don’t have to spend 30 minutes examining each product you pick up at the grocery store, but if you take a little time learning the basics, you can begin to choose items that are higher in nutrients you need, like fiber, calcium, and Vitamin D and lower in the ones you don’t, like added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.
  • Avoid ultra-processed foods. Harvard University’s Chan School of Public Health has an article on processed foods and their benefits and risks. In general, optimal diets would contain fewer processed foods.

Resources

Reading a food label doesn’t have to be impossible. Use what you know now to make healthy decisions!

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