Understanding Food Labels

Tash Columbus

Food labels are the sources of nutritional facts that are imperative in making healthy choices. But we must know how to read them first, stepping us away from marketing BS and into a place of knowledge and power! 


Ingredients list: 

✓  This is the most important thing to look at and look at FIRST! 


✓  If you don’t recognise an ingredient DO NOT purchase the product. 


✓  This lists what is in the product from most to least in order. 


✓  Use this info to check the first three ingredients for items high in saturated fat, 
sodium (salt) or added sugar, if one or more of these are there... double think about 
purchasing this product. 


✓  Think about what the product should be. If you are purchasing a protein product, you would want protein to be the first ingredient. 


✓  Remember sugar is known by many names. Learn some of the most used ones such as; high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, molasses, palm sugar, agave, maple syrup and the most dangerous artificial sweetener linked to many disease aspartame (avoid at all costs). There are currently at least 61 different names for sugar on food labels. 


✓  Stick to mostly wholefood ingredients with very little to no additives including emulsifiers and stabilisers. Avoid products with huge ingredients lists. Most likely these extra ingredients won’t be from natural sources. 


✓  If the word ‘hydrogenated’ is in the ingredients list it indicates Trans fats – avoid!!! 


✓  If anything in the ingredients list is sus (as above) then there is no need to even 
look at the Nutrition Facts Panel as you should put the product down immediately. 


Nutrition Facts Panel:

✓ Ensure the serving size is as you would expect it to be. Often when you pick up a product that you would expect to be a single serve, it is not. 


✓  4.2 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon. Over 70% of packaged foods contain added sugar! If, as an example, the product has 27 grams of sugar labelled, then you know it has nearly 7 teaspoons of sugar in it! WOW... 


✓  Calories: wholefoods are more likely to have higher calorie amounts. However; as it is a wholefood your body will be able to process its constituents better and in turn you will receive more energy and nutritional benefits. This is a good thing that means you can ignore the calorie amount. 



Ignore the front label. This is where most of the marketing lingo is. The use of ‘ticks’, rating scales, healthy colours and symbols, wording like natural, organic or gluten free does not mean healthy!
Skip the front and go straight to the back where all the best information is at!