Understanding Food Labels

The labels on the foods you buy provide important information that can benefit your overall health. Here’s what the fine print means

Selecting healthy, tasty foods is an important component of any diabetes care plan. Fortunately, current labeling laws simplify food choices by putting lots of information at your fingertips.

What’s on the package?

The front of the package gives you the basics — what’s in the package, how much is in it and who manufactures it. Food makers also grab your attention with nutritional claims — general information about nutrients, cholesterol, fiber or calories.

Although the terms are defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they can be confusing. For example, do you know the difference between a product labeled “reduced calorie” and one labeled “low calorie”? If not, check out the chart on page 43. You might even want to cut the chart out and take it with you to the grocery store.

While helpful, general nutritional claims don’t provide the detailed information someone following a diabetic meal plan needs. For that, look at the Nutrition Facts label located on the side or back of the package. It will specifically state:

• How much food is in one serving
• How many servings are in the package
• The number of calories per serving
• The number of grams of fat, saturated fat, trans fat, total carbohydrate, fiber, sugar and protein per serving
• The number of milligrams of cholesterol and sodium per serving
• The percentage of the Daily Value of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron per serving

How can you use the package information?

Serving size, found at the top of the Nutrition Facts label, lets you know how much food is considered one serving. Remember that the serving size listed on the package is not necessarily the same as a serving size in your meal plan, nor is it always equivalent to one dietary exchange. You need to do the math. If you eat double the listed package serving size, then you’re eating twice the number of calories, twice the grams of fat, twice the grams of protein, twice the grams of carbohydrate, etc.

If you have diabetes or cook for someone who does, you might be inclined to look for products labeled “sugar-free.” That’s fine, but be sure to read the Nutrition Facts panel too. Sugar-free products aren’t necessarily carbohydrate-free, and it’s the carbohydrates that affect blood sugar levels. When comparing a sugar-free food to a similar product that contains sugar, look at the number of grams of total carbohydrate. If the sugar-free food has substantially fewer carbohydrates than the regular product, the sugar-free food might be the better choice. However, if the two products are similar in grams of total carbohydrate, then you might want to make your choice based on flavor or cost. The same principles apply to foods labeled “no added sugar” or foods made with sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, xylitol and mannitol.

“Fat-free” is another front-of-the-package nutritional claim that tempts calorie counters. But don’t be duped. Fat-free foods may contain more carbohydrates and almost as many calories as their non-fat-free counterparts. Check the Nutrition Facts label to know for sure. While you’re looking at the Nutrition Facts, notice the breakdown of fat types listed below total fats on the label. Although all fats are high in calories, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats help lower cholesterol and protect against heart disease, while saturated fats and trans fats have the opposite effect.

The percent Daily Value (DV) listed on food labels is based on a 2,000-calorie average consumer diet. It helps you estimate how much of a specific nutrient one serving of food provides compared to the daily recommendations for an average person. But many people with diabetes consume fewer or more than 2,000 calories a day. In that case, use the percentage DV as a general reference and adjust your percent accordingly. As a general rule, a food may be considered a good source of a nutrient if one serving contains 10 percent to 19 percent of the DV, and a high source of a nutrient if one serving contains 20 percent or more. Use this guideline to find foods high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, but also to limit consumption of foods that are high sources of fat, cholesterol and sodium. 

Finally, the fine print

The ingredient list on a food package (often in fine print) provides even more information. Contents are listed in descending order by weight, meaning that the first one or two ingredients are the most prevalent. Look for ingredients that promote health, such as whole-wheat flour, oats, soy, olive oil, canola oil or peanut oil. Likewise, use the ingredient list to avoid products you don’t want to eat, such as saturated fat, hydrogenated fat or partially hydrogenated fat.

Look to the future

Today many companies voluntarily put symbols on the front of product packages that provide information about the nutrient content of foods. Although helpful, these symbols vary from one food manufacturer to another. The Food and Drug Administration is currently considering standardizing them.