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How to Read Food Labels
Most packaged foods list the nutritional information of what’s inside - but what do the different parts of the breakdown actually mean?
Serving size / servings per package.
This bit tells you the recommended serving size, and the number of servings in the product. A realistic serving size for you might be more or less than the recommendation, and - within reason - that’s fine! Just adjust the nutrition breakdown to match (i.e. if you have two serves, double the totals).
Nutritional breakdown.
This tells you which nutrients are contained in the food, and in what quantities. Choose foods that are low in fat and/or sugar where possible. For other nutrients, try to meet your recommended daily intake.
Ingredients.
Each food product should list all its ingredients on the label - usually from the one present in the largest amount to the one present in the smallest. It’s a good rule of thumb to avoid packaged foods that have too many ingredients, specifically chemicals etc. that you don’t recognise! The closer a food is to its original form the better!
Fat.
You’d think it’d be straightforward - is there fat in this or not? - but no. Not only are there different kinds of fat, often the sugar/carbohydrate content of a food can increase its ‘energy’ count, so although the fat content appears low, it might still be a high calorie food. For example, many muesli bars appear to be the healthy option but are high in sugar, making them more of a sweet treat than nutritious snack! Look out for ones that are both low in fat and sugar - or give this recipe a go and make your own.
Still confused? Take a look at this handy diagram.
Labels can be misleading! Here are some things to watch out for:
*Some foods appear to be a single serve when they’re actually two, or more! That affects how you read the nutritional breakdown of course, so check the serving size first.
*A product that says it has ‘no added sugar’ might still be high in natural sugars - check the carbohydrate content on the label as well.
*Many sugar-free and ‘non fat’ foods contain sugar substitutes that aren’t necessarily better for us! Natural sweeteners like agave and honey are great options if you’re wanting to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet.
Tip: When buying packaged foods it’s always a good idea to go for items that are as close to their natural form as possible. Even better, go organic to make sure there are as few nasties as possible in your food!
Click here to check out more Eating Well articles.
Article by Sarah Illingworth. Who is Sarah? Find out here and meet the rest of the 24/7 Girl team too. And don’t forget to check out Sarah’s blog here!
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Ph levels in coke are very high, if u stick a rusty nail in a glass of coke over night, the coke will strip the rust off and it will be clean…...Ph levels in coffee are also very high Posted by Marjeana "on" 11/06 "at"01:04 PM |
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I was amazed when I started reading labels at how much non-food I was consuming, by that I mean chemicals and additives. I try to avoid food that has a lot numbers in the ingredients list now. There’s a great handbag sized book called ‘The Chemical Maze’ by Bill Statham, it’s often available at health food shops and organic supermarkets. It lists details of food additives, their uses and potential effects, I have found it a very useful shopping aid. A friend who has children with various allergies swears by it too. I stopped drinking Coke when I was a kid after my Dad showed me how effective it was at cleaning old coins, if it’s strong enough to strip decades of age off a coin what’s it doing to your insides?! Posted by Bobannie "on" 10/04 "at"10:29 AM |
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Diet cokes have a substitute for sugar known as ‘nutrisweet’. This joins with hydrogen atoms in your body to create methanol which is very bad for you as it is a toxic alcohol. Best off drinking regular coke watered down or a very small amount of diet coke/coke zero. Posted by MelissaW "on" 09/19 "at"03:51 PM |
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I wish the labels were bigger and I knew where all the food comes from too Posted by Lana4 "on" 09/09 "at"06:39 PM |
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The chemicals they add to diet coke actually make you absorb more fats and sugars from the other things you may be eating, making it no better than coke, and depending on what you are having it with, it can be even worse. Posted by 32003 "on" 09/03 "at"11:50 AM |
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hehehe i stand in the isles and read the labels all the time, no idea what they mean but i still read them, haha Posted by tkennard "on" 08/10 "at"12:17 PM |
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Diet products such as coke zero - often include other ingredients/chemicals, which may be equivalent to/if not worse than the original. Posted by Sugaax! "on" 08/08 "at"02:05 AM |
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Coke Zero is worse than regular coke. It says it has zero sugar but they add all these chemicals to it which is why you are better off drinking regular coke. as for diet coke im not sure about that. Posted by 37404 "on" 02/02 "at"10:58 AM |
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What about drinking Diet Coke/Coke Zero instead of regular Coke? Posted by beautyjunkie "on" 01/15 "at"06:35 AM |
Best of the rest
