Food labels

Everyday someone asks me to help them read food labels.  One almost needs a PhD in nutrition to read a food label.  One of the first questions that I ask is 'what are you looking for?'  Are you trying to cut back on sodium, fat, calories, saturated fat, trans fat, etc?  Or, do you just want a general overview of the food label.

The food label doesn't tell us everything, but it's a good guide for those who are watching their intake. 

I once heard about some research where they asked consumers if they read food labels.  Most of them said that they did.  The next question was whether or not reading food labels influences their decision.  Generally, those foods still made it into the basket even if food labels were read. 

Serving size —  This is a standard 'serving size'.  This is not what a 'portion' is.  Generally, we can use these terms interchangably, but not every food serving that is listed is a portion.  The serving sizes have been changing over the years to more accurately reflect a portion.  One example of this is soda.  A 20 ounce soda bottle used to be listed as having 2.5 'servings' in it.  I don't know anyone who drinks 8 ounces of soda and puts the rest back for 'later'.   These size bottles are now listing one whole bottle as a serving.

Calories- This is the probably the most important information to those trying to lose weight.  I have found that most people don't know what calories are or how many they may need in a day.  This information isn't always helpful unless you have something that you are counting it toward. 

Fat-  What's too much? It's hard to say without looking at the whole overall product.  A good rule of thumb is to look for less than 30 percent of the calories coming from fat. 

Trans fats- At this time, food manufacturers are required to post trans fats on the food label.  The lower the better. 

Reading labels can be helpful for someone who is keeping food records or trying to count calories, carbs, etc.  If you aren't counting anything, you can compare different foods to find out what has lower amounts of a nutrient in it (or more).