We are constantly hearing about what is “bad” to eat.  You could easily walk into the supermarket and walk out with nothing because everything you look at appears to be too high in something that is supposed to be bad for us.

It can be really tricky it can be to decipher the information on a food label. Food labels were made to make information easier for consumers, but sometimes it just leaves us in a fog of confusion. To help clear up the confusion, check out Read It Before You Eat It, a brand new book out by Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD.

Here is how I go about reading a food label for myself.

Serving size

Paying attention to how much you are eating can be the difference between a true measured cup of cereal or eating half the box in one sitting.  You can eat more than one serving in a sitting, but just don’t fool yourself by thinking you ate one serving if you ate three.  Sometimes I will look at how many servings there are in the complete package (like 12 in a box of cereal, for example) and that will help me determine how much I ate by looking at approximately how much is left.

Calories

Next I look at calories before anything else.  Weight gain and weight loss are completely determined by the number of calories we eat and how much we burn in a day.

Since total calories on the food label are made up of the calories from fat, carbs, and protein (only things that have calories besides alcohol) then you are almost already starting to see how much you are eating of those three as well.

Fat

Some fat in the diet is good, but it is the saturated fat and trans fat that I try to minimize the most because of their connection to raising bad cholesterol levels.  I try to keep trans fat to zero and saturated fat to less than 15-20 grams each day.

Protein

Protein helps to keep me full, so I am always looking at how much protein is in each serving.  Women need at least 46 grams and men at least 56 grams per day¹.

Fiber

Fiber is another important nutrient to help keep you full but it also has numerous health benefits when it comes to disease prevention and glucose control.  Women should aim for 25 grams and men 38 grams per day.

Carbs

I don’t pay attention to total carbs because I am watching calories, which takes into account how many carbs I am eating, too.

I often look at ingredients if I am looking to determine whether it is whole grain or what types of oils are in the food.  Anyone with food allergies really needs to pay attention to the ingredient list.

What do you look at first when you are reading labels?

Assistance by Allison Marco, RD