In today’s world, it can be challenging to make informed choices about the food we consume. Many people want to eat healthy, but due to the overabundance of information out there, they experience analysis paralysis. In other words, they weigh their options, overthink and ultimately end up not making a decision at all on what the best approach is to start improving their eating habits. Additionally, food manufacturers use misleading tricks to deceive people into buying junk foods that may look healthy. In this post, we’ll explore how food labels can be used as a tool to help us make healthy and informed choices that align with our dietary goals and overall wellbeing.
Nutrition labels commonly consist of two sections: the nutrition facts and the ingredient list. The nutrition facts section provides information about the nutrient content of the food product, including serving size, calories, macronutrients (such as fat, carbohydrates, and protein), and micronutrients (such as vitamins and minerals). The ingredient list, on the other hand, provides a list of all the ingredients present in the product. It is important to note that the ingredients are typically in descending order of predominance in the product. Basically, the first few ingredients are what the manufacturers used the most of in the product, while the last few ingredients make up the minority.
Don’t be Tricked by the Claims on the Front
I’m sure you’ve seen tons of health claims on food packagings before. These might look like: “No high fructose corn syrup”, “100% natural” or “made with real fruit”. Have you ever wondered why food manufacturers put these health claims on their products? Well, their goal is to convince you that these items are “healthy” based on the fake claims on the front of the packaging. I don’t know about you, but I have never seen health claims on a box of strawberries or a bag of potatoes. Next time you go to the supermarket, pay attention to some food items. You’ll quickly notice that true health foods have little to no health claims, while junk foods have an abundance.
Focus on the Ingredient List
- Do not solely rely on the total calories, sugar, carbohydrates and fat information on the nutrition facts section to determine whether a product is good for you. This information is mainly helpful when counting calories and/or macronutrients to adhere to a daily goal; it doesn’t tell us what ingredients were consuming.
- The ingredient list provides insight on what ingredients are in the food product. This information is crucial in determining whether the product is clean and nutritious.
- Less ingredients indicates a healthier item. This is because ultra-processed foods often contain a multitude of additives to make the product smell, look and taste better.
- Avoid products with man-made substances and ingredients that you are unfamiliar with. Simple ingredients are better.
Pay Attention to Serving Sizes on Food Labels
- Serving size recommendations on food labels should not be followed. This is simply because no two bodies are the same and each person has different dietary needs. Several factors such as age, physical activity and genetics might determine the serving size for a person.
- Do not assume that the entire container equals one serving. Let’s look at the nutrition facts below as an example. Many people would assume in this case that the total amount of sugar in this container is 17 grams. However, if you read right below “Nutrition Facts”, you’ll see “about 4 servings per container”. In other words, each serving has 17 grams of sugar and this particular container has 4 servings; the grand total comes up to 68 grams of sugar per container. Now, why does this matter if I just advised you not to follow serving size recommendations? Simply because some people are cautious about their sugar (or any other macronutrient) intake due to health reasons. For some, it could even be risky to mistakenly consume 68 grams of sugar instead of 17 grams.
Navigating food labels and choosing healthy food products can sometimes be tricky. Personally, I believe that a diet containing minimal highly and ultra-processed foods is the way to go. I think that man-made substances such as artificial colors and dyes (i.e. red 40, blue 2, yellow 5) and natural flavors (artificial chemicals) in food products are causing more harm to our health than we’re even aware of yet. Highly processed and ultra-processed foods have their place in the world, but they should not be part of our everyday lives. I view these products as “survival foods”; their long shelf lives make them a great option during natural disasters or any other survival situations. I encourage you to consume mostly, whole and unprocessed foods rather than chemicals that come from a lab. Whenever you do buy packaged foods, make sure you opt for simple and clean ingredients.