Whole foods provide an excellent source of nutrients but may not be practical for all situations. When choosing packaged foods, it’s important to understand how to read food labels and ingredient lists to ensure optimal nutrition.
By: Ayesha Mohammad, University of Illinois at Chicago Dietetic Intern
About the Author: Ayesha Mohammad is a dietetic student and intern currently earning her BS degree in nutrition science at the University of Chicago in Illinois. She has a passion for public health and is currently working on research linking nutrition to cancer risk in urban populations. She hopes to help address health disparities across the globe.
Diet trends and food fads have come and gone, but nutrition advice from health professionals has remained fairly consistent over the years: choose fresh fruits and vegetables, get plenty of whole grains, and pay attention to what you eat. Most people, and the bulk of scientific research on diet and health, both agree that consuming fresh produce and whole foods (a term which refers to minimally processed foods) are part of a healthy lifestyle. However, processed and packaged foods are still a large part of many Americans’ diets.
The Truth About ‘Processed’ Foods
Realistically speaking, most people purchase and eat at least some processed foods—and it’s not always a bad thing. Processing foods allows food scientists to enhance food and consumption in a number of ways:
- Processing eliminates harmful bacteria from foods, which reduces foodborne illnesses and increases the shelf life of food.
- Processing allows for safe storage for longer periods of time. Better storage options due to processing help reduce the amount of food thrown away. Food waste is a major issue in the United States—and the largest contributor to waste is actually household use!
- Processing can help fortify foods, which is when additional nutrients are added to foods to prevent deficiencies. For example, milk is often fortified with vitamin D and enriched grains (like cereals, breads, and rice) are fortified with Iron, zinc, folic acid, and other B vitamins.
- Processing makes foods more accessible and convenient for consumers. Packaged foods are often cheaper, easier to transport, and can be enhanced with more nutrients, which helps lower socioeconomic populations and/or busy people meet their needs.
As helpful as food processing can be, in some cases, it can also destroy naturally occurring nutrients and introduce large amounts of fats and sugars. So, where do you go from here? It may seem like you have to choose between convenience and health, but with a little planning and reading, you don’t have to sacrifice either. Understanding food labels can help you make informed food decisions.
Understanding How Food is Labeled
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), all foods except raw fish, vegetables, and fish must have a nutrition fact label. This means that all processed foods will come with a food label! The Nutrition Facts label, mandated by the FDA, can seem intimidating if you’re not used to reading through it. Let’s walk through the different parts:
- Serving Information. The label shows you how many servings there are per container and the size of each serving. The serving size helps you get an idea of how much product is in the container. It is not a portion size recommendation! All the numbers on the label are for one serving, not the entire package.
- Calories. Calories are a measurement unit for energy, the same way that inches measure length. Every person needs energy to live & function well. Your energy needs are individual and depend on how active you are, how old you are, your gender, etc. You can learn what your estimated calorie needs using the MyPlatePlan resource. A food item with no calories provides no energy.
- Nutrients. Food labels show a number of key nutrients. The amount of each nutrient listed on the label is the amount in one serving, even though the package may contain more than one serving. Checking the nutrients may help you pick a product suitable for your specific needs – for example, for individuals with heart disease, you may want to avoid high sodium foods. Labels also list Added Sugars. Some foods have natural sugars in them, like fruits. Other foods have additional sugars that are added during processing. Nutrition labels will show the total and added amount of sugar in each product.
- Quick Guide to percent Daily Value. On the right of each nutrient, a percentage is listed. This number shows how much of the standard daily recommended amount of the nutrient is in one serving. Remember the 5-20 rule:
- 5% is
considered low
- 20% is considered high
Reading the Ingredient List
Ingredients are often listed in order of quantity. The first 3 ingredients listed make up most of the product. Scan the first three to make sure you catch any sneaky added sugars or hydrogenated oils. Keep in mind what kind of product you’re looking for. If you’re searching for a protein bar, for example, one of the first three ingredients should be the protein source (i.e. pea protein). The longer the ingredient list, the more likely that the product has been processed. Processing food is not always a bad thing: it can help foods last longer, more affordable to produce, and more convenient for consumers. Still, it’s best to rely on whole foods and minimally processed products for most of your intake.
The following are some common ingredients and types of additives:
- Preservatives—ascorbic acid, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, tocopherols
- Emulsifiers that prevent separation of liquids and solids—soy lecithin, monoglycerides
- Thickeners to add texture—xanthan gum, pectin, carrageenan, guar gum
- Colors—artificial FD&C Yellow No. 6 or natural beta-carotene to add yellow hues
- Different names for sugar—high-fructose corn syrup, agave nectar, invert sugar, evaporated cane juice, maltodextrin, etc.
Decoding Common Claims
There is no magic diet! Unfortunately, many products and brands use nutritional claims that are either marketing strategies or simply misleading. You should rely on the Nutrition Facts label for the most accurate information. Consumers often assume certain terms (like the ones listed below) mean that the product is healthy—but not all the terms are what they seem!
- Low-fat: The product has less fat than the leading product in the market, but the fat content may have been replaced with additional sugar.
- Low-calorie: The product has a third of the calories of the regular “full-calorie” product, but it does not necessarily contain any extra nutritional benefits.
- Multigrain: The product uses more than one type of grain, but the grains can be refined and processed (unless the product also notes “whole grain”). Non-whole grains can be broken down into two categories: refined and enriched. Refined grains include foods like cakes and sweets, while enriched grains include foods like white bread and white rice that have been fortified with nutrients.
- Natural: No standard definition! Usually, “Natural” means that there is at least one ingredient that is derived from a natural product (like syrup from corn), but the meaning can vary, and food advertisements can use the word without having to meet any specific criteria.
- Zero trans-fat: There is “less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving” in the product.
Aim for Balance
Food is not inherently “good” or “bad”, and there are no hard and fast rules to eating. Learning about nutrition is useful, but overthinking food decisions or counting calories may be harmful for your mental health. Healthy eating is a mindset that will take time to establish. It may be overwhelming to consider all of this new information at once. You might need to spend a little longer reading labels when grocery shopping, but soon enough, making food decisions will become intuitive.
Further Reading
History and Benefits of Food Processing
Statistics and Facts About Food Waste in America
Impact of Food Fortification on Various Populations
The Difference Between Refined and Whole Grains
What is Calorie Counting?
The US Food and Drug Administration’s Guide to the Food Label
