8 Tips for Reading Food Labels to make Informed Food Choices

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Part of maintaining a healthy diet is the ability to make good and informed choices when shopping at the grocery store.  This is facilitated by the ability to read and interpret food labels very carefully.  In this post, I am providing 8 tips for doing just that with the hopes that we will all make better and more informed choices when we do food shopping.

Beneficial Tips for Reading Food Labels:

1. Examine the Nutrient Content: Carefully look at the quantities of nutrients such as carbohydrates and breakdown of fiber and sugars contained.  Also, check for fat content and the associated amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol and any trans fats.  Review protein content and also look for micronutrients such as sodium.

                             
                     

2.  Focus on Nutrient Density: Choose options that provide essential nutrients without providing added sugars or other food additives.

3.  Determine the Calories contained: Look at the serving size of the product as well as the number of servings contained within the package to determine total calories that may potentially be consumed.

4.  Understand the Serving Size:  The listed product serving size is actually a recommended portion size to consume.  Unfortunately, many people indulge in several servings in one sitting.

5. Carefully Review the Ingredient List:  Ingredients in food products are listed in descending order from the ingredient with the greatest weight to the least weight.  This gives the consumer a good overview of the predominant ingredients as well as whether the ingredients are recognizable. 

                            


6. Be sure to check for sugars cited in different forms such as fructose, sucrose, and corn syrup.

7.  Do not be misled by Food Claims:  Always examine and verify that claims made on the front of a package such as " High in fiber " are indeed so by checking the breakdown of this information on the actual food label.




8. Carefully Compare Similar Food Products:  Carefully compare similar products across ingredients for the best option as well as for nutrient content.


In general, always make sure that you purchase food products that will best meet your health and nutrition goals.  Keep the characteristics of a healthy diet in mind such as balance, variety, adequacy, moderation, nutrient density and portion control.  Stay away from foods that are highly processed and/or contain high sugar content and numerous additives.  You should be able to recognize the ingredients contained in the products you purchase.  If you don't know what those ingredients are, then maybe you should refrain from that purchase.  Choose the healthier alternatives or substitutes or choose the options with the lowest amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.




Lorna C. Hylledig EDD., MSPH., R.D., L.D


Comments

  1. Ashley ArcherSeptember 16, 2023 at 8:10 AM

    Great post!!! Being able to interpret/ evaluate food labels is an important skill to have when making food choices. As a follow up to this post, I’d love to learn more about the daily recommended amounts of the macro/ micro nutrients and how fiber content may help me determine the quality of a carbohydrate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dr. Lorna HylledigSeptember 16, 2023 at 9:01 AM

      Thank you for your comment! Thank you as well for your ideas for a follow-up Blog post. I will definitely post on those topics in future.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2023 at 2:13 AM

    Ditto to what Ashley has written!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. OpheliaSeptember 20, 2023 at 2:14 AM

    Every food label should be reviewed prior to consumption.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dr. Lorna HylledigSeptember 20, 2023 at 4:52 AM

      Thank you for your comment Ophelia!

      Delete

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