In order to confidently make healthy choices when shopping for food, we need to understand how to read food labels. Food labeling in America is tightly regulated but some claims don’t actually mean what we think they do!

There are 3 basic areas on labels:

• • Front: Basic info and Claims
  • Nutritional Facts
  • Ingredients

Single ingredient products are usually fruits, vegetables, fresh meats, poultry, fish, bulk nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains. These are considered "whole foods".

Prepared, packaged, canned foods can be more complex. This is where skill and taking the time to compare really makes a difference. Our priority is the ingredients section.

• What to look for:
  • Length of the list of ingredients
  • Do you recognize all the ingredients as a food item?
    • If not, it’s mostly likely a highly processed food or a chemical additive
    • Would this be in a food if you were making it at home?
  • Order of ingredients
    • Listed in order of quantity in the food
• Pay special attention to:
  • Added sweeteners. Are there more than one sweetener? Some companies add small amounts of multiple sweeteners, which allows those ingredients to be listed further down the ingredients list but can add up to a lot of sugar.
  • Some products will claim no added sugar but they may use artificial sweeteners instead. These chemicals should be avoided. 
  • Fats: avoid partially hydrogenated (means trans fats: unhealthy changes to cholesterol, inflammation in blood vessels, negative effects on the brain) or fully hydrogenated oils. Highly processed. 
  • Refined Grains: Avoid foods with ingredients that are labeled as refined, white, enriched or degerminated
  • Chemical additives: May be added to enhance color, flavor or shelf life
    • Not a lot of testing on these ingredients 
    • Avoid or limit
      • Artificial colors
      • Artificial and even natural flavorings
      • Artificial sweeteners
      • Preservatives
      • MSG
• Nutrition Facts
  • Next we want you to look more closely at nutrition facts
  • How many servings per container?
    • Packaging can be deceiving 
    • Fat
    • Carbohydrates and Fiber
    • Protein
    • Vitamins and Minerals
      • Consider the quality of supplements they are using
      • Not always a good thing
      • Especially B vitamins
    • Sodium
      • What kind of salt is being used?
      • Packaged foods contain more than found in nature to preserve and enhance flavor