Some studies have shown that only 60% or so of Americans read the Nutrition Facts panel on food packaging and only 50% read ingredient lists. Reading food labels and ingredients lists and understanding how to interpret the information is key to making healthy food choices, and something Americans obviously need to do a better job of, given that roughly 35% of the U.S. adult population is estimated to be obese.
Try finding an ingredients list on a package. It's always on the back, side, or bottom. It's never on the front. Shouldn't it be? That's what you're buying. Not their marketing claims of "all natural" or "heart healthy", which often mean very little and lack government oversight. This is by design. The food companies don't want you thinking about what chemicals are in your food or how much fat, salt, and sugar they are loaded with. They spend millions of dollars lobbying against your best interest and information that could help you be healthier.
The nutrition information of food packaging was created by the FDA, which mandates that food producers put it on their processed foods. This information helps consumers understand what they're eating by providing per serving data of fat, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as fiber, cholesterol and salt/sodium. You may have noticed the percentile information next to each macronutrient or vitamin. It is based off of the government's recommended daily amount. It tells you that the food's serving size represents X% of cholesterol or whatever nutrient you are looking at.
The percentages you see of fat, carbs, and proteins are relative to a 2,000 calorie diet. It does not tell the breakdown of these nutrients as a percentage of the whole item. A hotdog may show the fat content of 8g as 12% of the recommended daily value of fat intake, however, if you do the math, those 72 fat calories make up 65% of the total 110 calories. Very misleading if you don't understand what those numbers are measuring.
While it is not always perfect, eyeballing the number of ingredients on a package can often help you understand how clean and healthy the food is. If you are going to eat processed foods, typically you will find that the healthier items have fewer ingredients. That being said, you actually need to read the ingredients list because longer lists could be all organic while shorter lists could still have dangerous chemicals or unhealthy ingredients. It's also worth paying attention to the order in which ingredients are listed, which always starts with the biggest contributors down to the smallest.
Based on the massive amounts of chemical additives in our food supply, there's a good chance you're not familiar with a wide variety of the ingredients in today's processed foods. I ask two questions when this happens. First, do I need my high school chemistry book? Second, would I use this if I was cooking from scratch? If you answer yes and no, respectively, it's probably best to avoid. I don't think Grandma ever tasted her gumbo or pasta sauce and said, "This could use some sodium benzoate, disodium chloride, and aspartame."
I recommend completely disregarding marketing claims on the front of the package. Go directly to the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient lists. If you are going to use label marketing claims (which have so many loopholes, they're virtually useless), I suggest using them as a starting point for further investigation. It also helps to know what claims are regulated and which aren't as well as what they actually mean. They are often misleading. Did you know there can be fat in a no-fat product? These marketing claims are not what they seem. If you're going to eat processed foods, make them as clean as possible. To do that, you have to read your food ingredient labels.
Try finding an ingredients list on a package. It's always on the back, side, or bottom. It's never on the front. Shouldn't it be? That's what you're buying. Not their marketing claims of "all natural" or "heart healthy", which often mean very little and lack government oversight. This is by design. The food companies don't want you thinking about what chemicals are in your food or how much fat, salt, and sugar they are loaded with. They spend millions of dollars lobbying against your best interest and information that could help you be healthier.
The nutrition information of food packaging was created by the FDA, which mandates that food producers put it on their processed foods. This information helps consumers understand what they're eating by providing per serving data of fat, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as fiber, cholesterol and salt/sodium. You may have noticed the percentile information next to each macronutrient or vitamin. It is based off of the government's recommended daily amount. It tells you that the food's serving size represents X% of cholesterol or whatever nutrient you are looking at.
The percentages you see of fat, carbs, and proteins are relative to a 2,000 calorie diet. It does not tell the breakdown of these nutrients as a percentage of the whole item. A hotdog may show the fat content of 8g as 12% of the recommended daily value of fat intake, however, if you do the math, those 72 fat calories make up 65% of the total 110 calories. Very misleading if you don't understand what those numbers are measuring.
While it is not always perfect, eyeballing the number of ingredients on a package can often help you understand how clean and healthy the food is. If you are going to eat processed foods, typically you will find that the healthier items have fewer ingredients. That being said, you actually need to read the ingredients list because longer lists could be all organic while shorter lists could still have dangerous chemicals or unhealthy ingredients. It's also worth paying attention to the order in which ingredients are listed, which always starts with the biggest contributors down to the smallest.
Based on the massive amounts of chemical additives in our food supply, there's a good chance you're not familiar with a wide variety of the ingredients in today's processed foods. I ask two questions when this happens. First, do I need my high school chemistry book? Second, would I use this if I was cooking from scratch? If you answer yes and no, respectively, it's probably best to avoid. I don't think Grandma ever tasted her gumbo or pasta sauce and said, "This could use some sodium benzoate, disodium chloride, and aspartame."
I recommend completely disregarding marketing claims on the front of the package. Go directly to the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredient lists. If you are going to use label marketing claims (which have so many loopholes, they're virtually useless), I suggest using them as a starting point for further investigation. It also helps to know what claims are regulated and which aren't as well as what they actually mean. They are often misleading. Did you know there can be fat in a no-fat product? These marketing claims are not what they seem. If you're going to eat processed foods, make them as clean as possible. To do that, you have to read your food ingredient labels.
About the Author:
You can learn more at my website Food Labels or my blog at why artificial sweeteners are bad