By: Ana T.

Food labels are meant to show us exactly what’s in our food — so why are they so hard to read? Since the trend of pushing towards a healthier, cleaner diet, food companies have done the most to guarantee their consumers that their food is the best choice for a healthy lifestyle. We see a lot of this trend emerge through the release of ‘healthier’ alternatives to classic favorites — regular yogurt vs. ‘lite’, diet vs. regular soda, etc. But what about these new alternatives actually make them a better, healthier option? This blog will show you how to look out for nutritional red flags, and precisely what it means for certain foods to be healthier options.

Know your portion sizes!

One of the trickiest parts of food labels is the calorie amount. This is mostly because the calorie count on the label is per serving size, instead of the entire product. Although it’s made clear on the nutritional labels, a lot of people are unaware of the fact that many products have up to 6 serving sizes in each container!

Debunk “healthy words”

When advertising a product, companies will do anything to make their consumers believe their product is worth buying. The same goes for food brands! This list of health claims has some great examples of wording you have to look out for when looking at nutritional labels.

• Light. Light products are processed to reduce either calories or fat. Some products are simply watered down. Check carefully to see if anything has been added instead — like sugar.
• Multigrain. This sounds very healthy but only means that a product contains more than one type of grain. These are most likely refined grains — unless the product is marked as whole grain.
• Natural. This does not necessarily mean that the product resembles anything natural. It simply indicates that at one point the manufacturer worked with a natural source like apples or rice.
• Organic. This label says very little about whether a product is healthy. For example, organic sugar is still sugar.
• No added sugar. Some products are naturally high in sugar. The fact that they don’t have added sugar doesn’t mean they’re healthy. Unhealthy sugar substitutes may also have been added.
• Low-calorie. Low-calorie products have to have one-third fewer calories than the brand’s original product. Yet, one brand’s low-calorie version may have similar calories as another brand’s original.
• Low-fat. This label usually means that the fat has been reduced at the cost of adding more sugar. Be very careful and read the ingredients list.
• Low-carb. Recently, low-carb diets have been linked to improved health. Still, processed foods that are labeled low-carb are usually still processed junk foods, similar to processed low-fat foods.

Although these tips and tricks are to help be more mindful of what foods you eat, it’s not all about portions and calories! With the influx of diet culture in the past few decades, calorie counting has become a saving grace for attaining your dream lifestyle. However, not everything is about counting calories and servings — the first step to having a healthy lifestyle is to have a goal that works for you and to find ways to still enjoy food while being mindful.