What's in My Food? Decoding the Nutrition Label

The nutrition label...you know, it’s that little black-and-white box that’s legally required to be on the back of all processed foods. Maybe you’re a devoted label-reader, or perhaps you’ve never taken the time to become familiar with it. The nutrition label offers a lot of information, but it also comes with a few inconsistencies. Learning to interpret food labels is an important skill for anyone looking to understand what they’re putting into their body.

Here’s the deal: the government mandates that food manufacturers label their products with a breakdown of what ingredients and nutrients it contains. However, the rules for how food is labeled and marketed are, at best, inconsistent. Terms like “natural” and “heart-healthy” mean very little. Yet, manufacturers slap these on the front of their packages alongside pictures of fruits and veggies, smiling faces, and "nature-y" stuff like leaves and trees. Why? Well, they’re assuming you’ll be busy and distracted while picking out your groceries. They rely on the fact that most of us are inattentive to the details of what’s in our food, and use this front-of-the-package nonsense to lure you in. It makes the food “seem” healthy and natural, so you buy it without thinking, and the food manufacturer gets to make their dollar.

Let’s decode the nutrition label together in five easy steps.

Step One

Slow down and take a few seconds to read the back label. Doing so will allow you to sidestep marketing ploys and make better food choices. Don’t automatically trust the claims on the front of the package.

So there you are, standing in the grocery store staring at the back of a cereal box. You may be asking yourself, now what? How do I use this information?

Step two

Start with the ingredient list. Best of all, choose foods that don’t need a label or ingredient list. 

If you’re looking for a nutrition label and don’t see one, go ahead and buy that food! No label means the item is a whole-food product that doesn’t require explanation. For example, the veggies and fruit in the produce section. These are always good for you!

If the item you’re looking at does have a label, scan the ingredient list first. How many items are on it? Do you know what all those items are? Can you picture how the ingredients were made, or what they look like? If you have no idea what an ingredient is, it’s likely a highly processed product. Likewise, if a food has about a million ingredients and each one is 15 syllables long, that food was definitely developed in a lab, and it almost certainly is not going to improve your health. 

Choose foods that are as close as possible to their natural state and have been minimally meddled with. They will have short ingredient lists and components that you can easily understand. To continue our cereal example, you might reach for a container of plain oatmeal instead- just one simple ingredient (i.e., “steel cut oats” or “rolled oats”). This will be a better choice than nearly anything else in the cereal aisle.

Maybe you still want to buy regular cereal, not oatmeal. That’s fine! Your next stop is to check out the nutrition section, where the nutrients in the food are broken down into an itemized chart.

Read those labels!

Look through the ingredients, check the serving size, and glance at what nutrients are present in what amounts.

Step three

Remember that calorie and nutrient information is often imperfect. Know which nutrients you want more of and which you’d like to eat less often, and work from there. 

The nutrition label breaks down the amounts of calories, fat, sodium, sugar, fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals that are in that food, and then gives you a percentage. What does that percentage mean? Well, this varies based on which nutrient it’s referring to (told you this system of labeling is imperfect!).

For nutrients we should limit or eat less of, the percentage refers to your daily recommended limit. These include fat, sodium, sugar, and sometimes carbohydrates. If a food says it has 15% of your daily value of sodium, that means eating one serving of that food will give you 15% of the recommended limit of sodium for the day. Eating less than or equal to the recommended daily limit is encouraged, with a few exceptions for certain medical conditions.

For nutrients we should generally include more often in our diets, the percentage refers to the minimum daily recommended intake. These nutrients generally include protein, vitamins, and minerals. If a food says it provides 10% of your daily value of calcium, that means one serving of that food gives you 10% of the minimum recommended calcium intake for your day. Eating at least this much of these nutrients is highly encouraged, unless a doctor has recommended not to for specific medical concerns.

Think about what you want from your food- are you trying to lose weight, gain weight, improve your cardiovascular health, avoid certain allergens, or stick to a limited diet for ethical reasons? Decide what your “no-go” nutrients and ingredients are, and work from there. 

Step four

Consider serving size and calories. 

This is listed at the top of the label. Often, the serving size is ridiculously small. Take into consideration what a “normal person's” serving size would be. I, for one, have absolutely never in my life eaten exactly 11 tortilla chips and no more. Same with a can of soup- are you really going to divide that little can into two servings? Yet, the serving size is how all the other numbers are calculated. 

Some foods have recently begun to list the “recommended serving size” and the “realistic serving size” next to each other, with nutrition breakdowns for both. If the package doesn’t already have that, do some quick math. Maybe one serving of soup has 35% of your daily sodium limit- but if you eat the whole can, that number doubles to 70%. Be realistic about how much you’ll eat, and use that to guide your final decision. 

Step five

This one’s a bonus, if you’re so lucky. Whenever possible, look for foods that are local and sustainable. 

It’s truly a privilege if you have access to these types of food. You eat multiple times per day- changing your buying habits is the number one way you can impact the health of our environment and bring socially conscious change to the working conditions of food-laborers around the globe. Foods labeled as organic or fair trade are good choices, as are foods that are minimally packaged. Better yet, skip the middleman and buy directly from people growing food close to home: think co-ops and farmers’ markets. This ensures you’re getting high-quality nutrition that was grown or raised in a way that respects the land, the animals, and the people who all had a part in what goes into dinner. This is crucial to the health and well-being of millions around the globe, and to the health of the planet that feeds us all.

Let’s put it all together

Eat whole foods, which do not need a label. 

Check the ingredient list and choose foods with minimally processed ingredients. 

Scan the label for what nutrients the food gives your body. Choose high in which nutrients you’d like more of in your diet (for example, protein), and avoid foods high in nutrients you’d rather avoid (for example, added sugar). 

Look at the serving size and calories. Consider how much you’ll actually eat, and do the math. 

Start small, and take steps to change your buying habits toward foods that are minimally packaged, locally grown, and/or sustainably farmed whenever accessibility and budget constraints allow.

It takes a bit of practice, but with time, you’ll become quick at scanning labels, seeing through marketing nonsense, and choosing foods that align with your health goals. Try it next time you shop, and watch those little shifts add up to better health.