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Let’s get right to the last installment of this not-so-brief nutrition label reading “how-to.” Today I’m simply sharing a chart that indicates what you should pay attention to within particular classes of food outside of serving size and calories per serving of course. For example, saturated/trans fat and sodium are important to consider when comparing snack foods like crackers, pretzels, etc., while fiber and sugar content should be more of a focus when comparing cereals. Remember, there’s no need to look at nutrition labels for fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dried legumes, eggs, and fresh seafood, poultry and meat (although leaner cuts are better). They are our best options on supermarket shelves.

To test your new found skills, here are two breakfast cereal nutrition labels. What do you notice? Which do you think might be a better choice? My thoughts are at the bottom of the page so you can’t cheat.

So after three posts, that’s it! Not so bad right? Right? Anybody still there? Ugh, I know. It’s hard. So here is where I tell you how to cheat. One of my favorite websites for label reading is called Fooducate. The site grades each product (A-, B+, C, etc…) based on its nutrition facts and ingredient list and prioritizes minimally processed, real foods. I have yet to come upon a rating that I find suspect. Fooducate’s mobile app allows you to scan a product’s barcode while at the supermarket so that you can make good food decisions on the spot. But even better, let me come along with you the next time you go shopping. We can work through all this together so you won’t be up the creek when your cell service decides to be spotty. Learning how to do this intuitively without the help of modern technology will guarantee you a lifelong ability to protect your grocery cart from the all too rampant devils in disguise in the supermarket today.

Cereal standoff: After noting that the two cereals have the same serving size (1 cup), I notice that Raisin Bran Crunch has 30 more calories than Kashi Go Lean (190 versus 160), 10 grams more of sugar (19 g versus 9 g) and 6 grams less of fiber (4 g versus 10 g). Reading the ingredients list on Raisin Bran Crunch, not only is sugar the second ingredient to appear, it also contains brown sugar syrup (sugar), corn syrup (sugar), molasses (sugar) and honey (sugar). Going even farther than necessary, I also see that Raisin Bran Crunch has more sodium and less filling protein, two more minuses. Yes, it is more heavily fortified with vitamins, but I’d rather get those somewhere that they’re not packaged with nearly 5 teaspoons of sugar. Winner: Kashi Go Lean!

So here we go…how to read a nutrition label. One of the (admittedly) more dull things to blog about, but important enough to try.

A quick note before I start: If you just want the nuts and bolts of nutrition label reading, skip over the “more info” bullets. They provide “nice to know” detail, but not necessarily “need to know” information. Also, remember tomorrow I’ll be sharing a chart showing what you should pay attention to within particular classes of food. For example, saturated/trans fat and sodium are important to consider when comparing snack foods like crackers, pretzels, etc., while fiber and sugar content should be more of a focus when comparing cereals.

Grab a cup of coffee and let’s get to it….

1. The first place to start is “Serving Size,” which is always listed directly under the words “Nutrition Facts.” All of the numbers on the rest of the label are based on this value. If you eat two servings, you have to double the rest of the values. (Side note: Yes, this is what tripped up my husband.)

2. Check out the calories. Knowing that most people eat between 1500-2500 calories a day, you can see how this food fits into your calorie “budget.”

More info: Generally meals should contain ~400-600 calories and snacks should be less than ~250 calories. Pay extra close attention to foods that contain loads of calories but not much nutritional value otherwise like sugary drinks.  Avoid them.

3. Minimize saturated and trans fat, sodium, and sugar.

More info on saturated and trans fat: Ignore “Total Fat” and look below to the numbers next to “Saturated Fat” and “Trans Fat.” These are the only fats that adversely affect your heart health. Both saturated and trans fat raise your LDL cholesterol (aka the Lousy kind), but trans fat is the real bad boy because it also lowers your HDL cholesterol (aka the Healthy kind). Unfortunately, it gets even trickier. A food company is allowed to claim a product has zero trans fat on the label if it has less than 0.5 g per serving. To really make sure a product is trans-fat free, you must look to the ingredients list and check to see whether the word “partially hydrogenated” pops up anywhere. If it does, the product does in fact contain trans fat. If you’re eating one serving, you might be okay but if you’re eating two or more servings, that small amount of trans fat can quickly add up.

More info on sodium: Americans consume too much salt and over 75% of it comes from eating packaged and restaurant foods. The best way to gauge whether a food has too much salt is to look at the Percent Daily Value (%DV). While the %DV is generally useless because it’s based on a 2000 calorie diet and many of us need to eat more or less than that, the %DV for sodium is based on 100% of the recommended amount of sodium for the vast majority of us, which is less than 2400 mg per day. A rule of thumb is

• 5%DV (120 mg) or less of sodium per serving is low – Go for it!
• 20%DV (480 mg) or more of sodium per serving is high – Think twice!

More info on sugar: Another tricky one. Nutrition panels don’t distinguish between added sugar – what we want to minimize – and naturally occurring sugar. Naturally occurring sugar can be found in all dairy (lactose), fruit (fructose), grains and starchy vegetables (glucose). That’s why the grams sugar is useful when comparing products (e.g. plain yogurt versus flavored yogurt), but not necessarily useful on its own. To make sure a product is not high in added sugar, you’ll need to check the ingredients list. Ingredients are listed by weight. The farther up sugar falls on the list, the more added sugar there is. Also look for code words that are just sugar in disguise: cane/beet sugar, sucrose/fructose/lactose/maltose, molasses, maple syrup, agave nectar, etc.

4. Maximize fiber and vitamins and minerals.

More info: Nah, enough said.

Now that you’ve gotten the rundown, go back to the food labels that I asked you look at yesterday. Did you first look at serving size? Did you get side tracked with less important info like total fat or cholesterol? Still confused about what information is most important with your particular class of food? Don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow to help with that.

I’m going to embarrass my husband. Recently he remarked that he just doesn’t get why Nature’s Valley granola bars are so high in calories. At close to 400 of them a package, why not have a candy bar?

Not the greatest image, but can you tell what he was doing wrong?

The info listed on the label is for two bars, not for one as he assumed. He doubled the calories because he finished the package. Not necessary.

Okay. I’ve always known that nutrition labels are tricky. But if someone who is incredibly smart, good with numbers and married to a dietitian still doesn’t get it, we’ve got a problem. Even my clients who claim to be 100% confident in their label reading skills are typically missing one or two important points. For the average consumer – and by that I mean anyone without an RD, MS or PhD in nutrition next to his name – labels stink.

First, there is the serving size issue. Sometimes, what looks like a single serving food item actual contains two or more servings according to the nutrition label. Then there is the matter of deciding what we should even care about. How many calories are “too many”? Should we be concerned about total fat? Total carbohydrates? Sugar? It’s no surprise that most of us just ignore the label altogether.

But my plea to you is this: Don’t. While most of the healthiest foods – fruits and vegetables as well as nuts, grains and beans from bulk bins – don’t have nutrition labels to begin with, it’s inevitable that at least a few packaged foods end up in most of our grocery carts. Nutrition labels allow us to make informed decisions about whether that food is worthy of our bellies. Unlike most of the meaningless front of label packaging (All Natural!, Made with Whole Grain!, etc.), nutrition labels give us the power to see through the BS. They are especially useful in helping us decide between similar products.

So in my next two posts, which I’ll share over the remainder of the workweek, I’ll discuss the nuts and bolts of nutrition label reading including extra detail for those who are interested, and provide a chart showing what you should pay attention to within particular classes of food. For example, saturated/trans fat and sodium are important to consider when comparing snack foods like crackers, pretzels, etc., while fiber and sugar content should be more of a focus when comparing cereals.

Until then, do a little prep work by taking a look at food labels on your daily breakfast cereal, favorite office snack, etc. Share what kind of label your looking at in the “Leave a Reply” section below and what information you use on the label to decipher its health value. I’ll provide feedback and perhaps your label will be featured in one of the two remaining nutrition panel posts.