{"id":64639,"date":"2018-01-10T07:15:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T12:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=64639"},"modified":"2021-05-17T03:53:22","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T07:53:22","slug":"read-nutrition-labels-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/read-nutrition-labels-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Read Nutrition Labels (And Not Get Duped)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sometimes, trying to determine whether a packaged food<\/a>\u2019s nutrition facts mean it\u2019s healthy for you (or at least sort of <\/em>healthy for you) can feel about as confusing as reading Ulysses <\/em>after a few glasses of wine<\/a>. Big, bright labels declaring an item \u201clow-fat\u201d or \u201clow-sugar<\/a>\u201d might sound promising. But then you flip over the package to discover a list of ingredients longer than your family tree.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the FDA\u2019s nutrition facts updates, decoding packages should<\/em> get easier. The government now requires large, easy-to-read numbers for calories<\/a>, servings per container and serving size. And the serving size info will reflect what people typically eat, rather than what\u2019s suggested (for example, a full 15-ounces of soup<\/a> rather than half of it). Finally, added sugar will stand out as its own category.<\/p>\n

But even with these changes, some info can be tricky to decipher. Luckily, a few sound strategies can help you cut through the confusion to identify packaged foods that won\u2019t mess with your health. Follow these six steps to simplifying nutrition labels<\/a> and finding good-for-you groceries.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>The Beginner\u2019s Guide to Clean Eating<\/a><\/p>\n

6 Steps to Easily Deciphering Nutrition Labels<\/h2>\n
\"How
Photo: Twenty20<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Make sure you can identify all the ingredients.<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s a simple way to start a food product assessment: Read the whole ingredient<\/a> list, and take note of whether you actually know what each ingredient is. \u201cIf there is an item listed that you are unfamiliar with, I recommend looking it up before consuming it,\u201d says Maxine Yeung, RD, NASM-CPT and founder of The Wellness Whisk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a general rule, shorter ingredients lists will be easier to decipher \u2014 and that usually says good things about the product. \u201cA longer list is likely to include additives,\u201d says Yeung.<\/p>\n

2. Note the order of ingredients.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Manufacturers list ingredients from heaviest (or most prominent) to lightest, says Yeung. \u201c[This] can guide you in choosing a healthier item.\u201d For example, if a multigrain bread product lists white flour before whole wheat flour, you\u2019ll know the bread is made primarily from refined <\/span>carbohydrates<\/a>. That means you\u2019re probably better off choosing a different product, preferably one with whole grains listed higher up.<\/span><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong> The Ultimate Guide to Pre- and Post-Workout Carbohydrates<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Check the serving size.<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important to pay attention to the serving size<\/a> on the food label, because oftentimes what seems like a small package and individual serving may actually be two or more servings,\u201d says Yeung. That means you could consume more calories, fat, salt and sugar than intended. (One reason the FDA is requiring updates on serving size.)<\/p>\n

4. Focus on what\u2019s most relevant to your personal needs.<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to pay attention to the ingredients that will affect your personal health the most,\u201d says Yeung. For example, she says, if you have issues with blood pressure, you should pay particular attention to salt content<\/a>. If you\u2019re concerned about your blood sugar levels, make sure you\u2019re evaluating total carbohydrates and added sugars<\/a>. For those trying to achieve healthier cholesterol levels, watch out for unhealthy fats, like saturated or trans. And if you\u2019re watching your weight, the calorie content will probably be most relevant. Try to keep all these numbers low, but especially those most important to your health, Yeung says.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Why You Should Eat More Fat and Less Sugar <\/a><\/p>\n

5. Identify fat and sugar sources.<\/h3>\n

Sure, the quantity of fats and sugars<\/a> can tell you something about the healthfulness of a given product. But where these nutrients come from also matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep the amount of saturated fat<\/a> you consume under seven to 10 percent of your daily total calories, and total fat intake should be 20 to 35 percent of your total daily calories,\u201d says Yeung. \u201cThis means the majority of your fat intake should come from monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.\u201d Yeung also recommends avoiding items with partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oil, as these are just different names for trans fats.<\/p>\n

The source of a product\u2019s sugar is another crucial component. \u201cUltimately, any type of carbohydrate breaks down into sugar in your body,\u201d says Yeung. \u201cHowever, with sugar from natural sources (such as fruit) you also get vitamins, minerals, fiber<\/a> and water, which helps better manage sugar levels in your body. You want to limit the amount of added sugar as much as possible.\u201d That includes maple syrup, cane sugar, brown rice syrup and honey.<\/p>\n

6. Don\u2019t get fooled by front-label claims.<\/h3>\n

\u201cFront-label claims can be helpful in narrowing down items, such as choosing a gluten-free product<\/a> if you have a [sensitivity] to gluten,\u201d says Yeung. But these labels can also be misleading. In fact, a study from earlier this year<\/a> found front-label claims may lend people a false sense of confidence that they\u2019re purchasing healthy foods. On the contrary, many of these products actually had worse nutritional profiles than those without those claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cOftentimes when companies eliminate or reduce fat, sugar or salt in a product, they will use one of the others to help flavor the product,\u201d says Yeung. \u201cFor example, a fat-free product may have a lot of added sugar<\/a>. This can increase the amount of calories and lead to an increase in fat stores.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, note that \u201creduced\u201d doesn\u2019t mean \u201clow.\u201d \u201cReduced fat or reduced salt doesn\u2019t mean the product is low in fat or salt,\u201d says Yeung. \u201c\u2018Less salt<\/a>\u2019 just means the product has at least 50 percent less salt than in the original food, and \u2018reduced salt\u2019 means the product has at least 25 percent less salt than the original food. The product has to say \u2018low sodium\u2019 or show 140 mg of salt or less per serving to actually be a low-salt food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Food for Thought<\/h3>\n

Reading food labels doesn\u2019t have to feel impossible enough that you give up and just buy whatever it is you\u2019re holding. Use these strategies to break down the nutrition facts and easily figure out what\u2019s good for you (and what\u2019s not) so you can make the best decision for your body. And remember, most vitamin- and mineral-rich foods don\u2019t require labels.<\/p>\n

Read More
\n<\/strong>Shop Smarter: 6 Common Food Labels, Explained<\/a>
\nEverything You Need to Know About the Top Diet Plans<\/a>
\nWill Apple Cider Vinegar Really Help You Lose Weight?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With sneaky names for sugar, confusing chemicals and tons of ingredients, nutrition facts are a tough code to crack. Our guide to deciphering nutrition labels makes finding healthy foods easier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":64644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,11],"tags":[296,51,59,71,333,341,388],"class_list":["post-64639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-health-hacks","tag-fast-food","tag-food-choices","tag-healthy-substitutions","tag-nutrition","tag-sugar","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2nutrition"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}