Did you know there is only one purpose of the front of a food package? It only exists to make you buy the product.

And guess what? It’s not always fact-based and does not indicate the healthiness of the food inside. In order to know what you are truly buying, you need to understand how to read and properly translate the ingredient list as well as the nutrition information label on food packages. Brace yourself though, you may be shocked when you begin to discover what’s really in the food you buy! Yet learning this very simple task will help make you an informed consumer.

On May 20, 2016, the FDA announced the new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and certain chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. The new label is supposed to make it easier for consumers to make better informed food choices.  

For the sake of this post I have put together a brief overview of both the nutrition label and ingredient list to give you an idea of what to look for.

If you want to ensure that you are buying foods that are truly healthy – high-quality, nutritious, unprocessed – then follow the tips below:

Quick Overview: Nutrition Label

SERVING SIZE & CALORIES

First, we have the servings per container (which will change slightly on the new labels). The serving size simply means how many servings it will take for you to eat everything in the package. For example, if a serving size is 2/3 cups and the package states 8 servings per container that means you have enough in the package of food to eat 2/3 cup’s worth 8 times (because of the 8 servings per container).

If, for example, you ate more than 2/3 cup at a time then it would mean you would eat the package of food in less than 8 servings. Then of course, you would have to do a bit of math to calculate how many calories (which is the next line of information) and other nutrients you are really getting because you would be eating more than what’s indicated in one serving.

Calories are very important because the number of calories you consume or burn determine whether you are going to gain or lose weight. For instance, if you consume or burn 3500 calories, you are going to gain or lose one pound of weight respectively.  

PERCENT DAILY VALUE

Percent Daily Value, which is the percentage of a nutrient found in one serving of food, is based on diet of 2000 calories per day. Now 2000 calories per day is the standard number that is used on labels, but that does not mean that’s how many calories you should be consuming in a day. If you eat less than 2000 calories per day or more than 2000 calories per day than you would need to take that into consideration when looking at the label. 

TOTAL FAT

When it comes to total fat it’s important to know the difference between fats like mono & polyunsaturated, saturated, and trans fat because calories from fat will not be included on the new nutrition facts label because research shows it’s the type of fat that makes a difference. So total fat on the label will mean all fats in the product.

Because of the harmful effects of trans fat there is no recommended total daily value included on the nutrition label. Note that foods can be labeled as “trans-fat free” even if they contain up to half a gram of trans fats per serving.  

**As a general rule when looking at the label for any category of nutrients, 5 percent or less is considered low and 20 percent or more is considered high.**  

TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE

This number includes fiber, sugars, and anything else that is a carb, but that doesn’t count toward the fiber and sugar content, like starches. 

**Note: The good news is that “added sugars” will now be included on the new nutrition facts label. **

Quick Overview: Ingredient List

The key to cracking the code of ingredients is to remember they are listed in the order of the most abundant by weight. This means the first two or three ingredients are the majority of what the food contains. The last few ingredients make up very little of the product. 

If you want to ensure that you are buying foods that are truly of high-quality, nutritious, and unprocessed, then you need to become familiar with the ingredients including the beneficial ones with long names. Even though you may have heard the term if you can’t pronounce don’t eat it, sometimes that’s not the case as you might miss out on some high quality food.

Most of the time the more familiar term is in parentheses for the everyday consumer, so this will help you weed out the chemicals, preservatives, artificial flavors, and colors, over the more beneficial ingredients.  

You’ll want to try to choose foods with no more than five ingredients (this means it is minimally processed), added sugar, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and trans fats.

Let’s break down a few popular ingredients:

Whole Grains
Particularly for cereals, crackers, pasta, and breads, the word “whole” should appear as the first or second ingredient, whether it is whole wheat, whole oats, whole rye, or another grain. One way to double-check is to look at the fiber content on the nutrition facts panel; whole-grain foods should deliver at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.

Hidden Sugars
Avoid foods with sugar listed within the first three ingredients, and be aware that “sugar” has many names, many of which add calories without boosting nutritional value, and others that can cause stomach distress and other symptoms. Ingredients that end in the word “ose” are all forms of sugar, such as fructose, sucrose and dextrose.

Other sugar sources are honey and corn sweeteners, including high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). A recent study at the University of California/Davis found that these sweeteners had a similar metabolic effect as other forms of sugar. To know exactly how many grams of total sugar a product contains, check out the Nutrient Facts label. Four to five grams of sugar is the equivalent of one teaspoon.

Fat subsitutes
If you see the words “low fat” or “fat free”, chances are fat substitutes have been used instead. They are not natural and give off the same taste as regular fat in products. 

Fat substitutes also may contain calories, sometimes the same amount as the regular food version. And surprisingly sugar may be added to replace the flavor lost when the fat is removed.  

Partially Hydrogenated Oils
Partially hydrogenated oils are the primary source of trans fats, which have been shown to be even more harmful to arteries than saturated fat. Foods can call themselves “trans-fat free” even if they contain up to half a gram of trans fats per serving (and the nutrition label states 0g). Look on the ingredients list. If a food contains partially hydrogenated oils, it contains trans fats.

Artificial Sweeteners (i.e. Sucralose, Saccharin, Aspartame, Acesulfame)
I share with clients, friends, and family, to AVOID artificial sweeteners — they can actually increase your craving for sweets, are loaded with chemicals, and are often the source of bloating, diarrhea, and other symptoms. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) warns that some artificial sweeteners can be dangerous in large quantities. A few diet sodas every day may be considered “large quantities” over the years!

Potassium Bromate
Potassium bromate is used to strengthen bread and cracker dough and help it rise during baking. It is listed as a known carcinogen by the state of California, and the international cancer agency classifies it as a possible human carcinogen. 

Sodium Nitrite
Used as a preservative in meats, some research indicates that sodium nitrate may pose a cancer risk; another recent study suggested that nitrites and nitrates could interact with medications to damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer. The CSPI recommends limiting the amount you consume by choosing nitrite-free products whenever possible.

Natural & Artificial Flavors
This is a VERY vague term that could mean literally anything! Companies do not fully disclose what exactly is in the flavors and in reality can contain one or more synthetic ingredients.  Flavor extracts and ingredients derived from genetically engineered crops may also be labeled “natural,” because the FDA has not fully defined what that term means. 

Artificial Colors
Research suggests that some colorings may pose health dangers. Artificial colorings are found in cereals, candy, soda, snack food –on and on, particularly those designed for children. They are listed on the ingredients label by their color name, such as Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Red 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, and Orange B.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is a salty flavor and companies/restaurants add it to food to enhance flavor. Some people experience “MSG symptom complex,” with reactions such as headache, flushing, sweating, fluttering heartbeat, and shortness of breath.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
The rule of thumb for now is if a food or beverage product lists corn, soy and soybean-derived ingredients, canola, cottonseed or beet sugar as an ingredient and it’s not organic, nor does it have a label stating non-GMO, it more than likely contains GMOs, so the best chance of avoiding them is to buy the organic version or at least one that carries the non-GMO label.