Do You Know How To Read A Nutrition Label?
This story is part of a larger series on the top health trends and how they could impact cancer patients and their families.
Starting the journey to a healthier lifestyle can be exciting, from discovering new recipes to finding ways to stay on track. One key to maintaining consistency is making informed choices about the foods you eat. While many products are marketed as "healthy," it's important to understand what’s really in them.
Reading nutrition labels properly can help you make better choices when grocery shopping. These labels provide valuable information about the nutritional content of packaged foods, allowing consumers to compare similar products and choose the best options for their health goals.
Diane Riccardi, RD
To help break down the essentials of reading a nutrition label, we spoke with Diane Riccardi, a registered dietitian at Moffitt Cancer Center, who shared expert tips on properly reading nutrition labels.
What are the key sections of a nutrition label, and how should consumers approach reading them?
What you prioritize on a nutrition facts label depends on your individual health goals, dietary needs and medical conditions. A person with kidney disease may select food low in potassium, while someone with diabetes will look for the amount of carbohydrates a food contains.
When approaching a food label pay close attention to the serving size, as it determines the rest of the information on the label. If the serving size of a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream is two-thirds cup and you eat the full container, you will have eaten three times the number of calories, fat, sugar and other nutrients listed on the label.
How can consumers use nutrition labels to make healthier food choices?
Use the nutrition facts labels to make healthier choices by selecting foods higher in fiber, vitamin D, calcium and iron and lower in calories, saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
What are some quick tricks for scanning a label when short on time?
Determine which nutrient is the most important to your individual needs and use the percent daily value (%DV) to determine if the food is high or low in that nutrient. As a general guide, 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is considered low and 20% DV or more per serving is considered high.
What are the most common misconceptions people have about nutrition labels?
A common misconception is that a smaller package always represents one serving. Although true for “single serving” containers, a small package may contain more than one serving. Check the label to see how many servings are actually in the package, regardless of its size.
What are some common misleading terms used on food packaging, like “natural,” “low-fat” and “no sugar added?”
More often, it's the health claim on the front of the box that can be the most misleading. For example, some highly sweetened cereals can label themselves “healthy” if they are fortified with vitamins and minerals. A new U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruling updates that claim to close these loopholes, restricting the “healthy” claim to less processed foods. Another loosely defined term is “natural,” meaning that the food does not contain any artificial ingredients. Although natural implies healthy, foods labeled “natural” can still contain added sugars and unhealthy fats.
How can consumers identify hidden sugars or artificial ingredients in the ingredient list?
Food labels must include the amount of added sugar a food contains. This helps consumers distinguish between sugar that occurs naturally in the food (like fruit) and sugar that was added during processing (like high fructose corn syrup in soda). The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar consumption to 25 grams per day for women and 36 grams per day for men. The U.S. consumes the most sugar per capita globally. With over 60 different names for sugars, so you'll have to do some detective work when reading food labels. Words ending in -ose, such as maltose and sucrose are types of sugar. Artificial sweeteners are even more challenging to find and are listed on the ingredient label under their generic names, such as aspartame, sucralose, etc.
Are there specific nutrients that cancer patients or those undergoing treatment should pay special attention to?
Patients undergoing cancer treatment should choose foods with adequate calories and protein to maintain energy levels and muscle, thus preventing malnutrition. A Moffitt registered dietitian can help guide patients in making the best choices for their individual needs.
Although food labels help guide healthy choices, many plant-based foods, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, raw nuts and beans are exempt from labeling. These whole foods have no added fat, salt or sugar, are minimally processed and are the best choice for fighting cancer.
Reading a nutrition label becomes easier once you know what you are looking for. Riccardi says the FDA has many resources to help, and tools like apps scan the barcodes on foods to provide useful nutrition information.
