Misleading Labels

Tips for Understanding Food Labels

Do you find nutrition labels confusing? You're not alone — even those who consider themselves savvy shoppers don't always understand. Labels can be very misleading, but we will help you decipher labels and choose nutritious food options.

Serving Size
Pay attention to the serving size as oftentimes there are two to three (or more) servings in an individual package.

Calories
How do these calories fit into your recommended daily caloric needs? Choose a wide range of lower-calorie foods from each food group to get the full range of nutrients and vitamins your body needs.

Fat
Look for no more than 3 grams of fat for every 100 calories or no more than one-third of the total calories from fat.

Cholesterol
The recommendation is a maximum of 200 to 300 milligrams per day.

Sodium
More than 400 milligrams is considered a high-sodium food (600 milligrams for an entrée). A low-sodium diet is considered to be no more than 1,500 to 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day, about half of which naturally occurs in foods.

Fiber
Look for grains and cereals with at least 3 grams per serving.

Nutrients
Choose products with 20 percent daily values of vitamins, calcium and iron.

Since there is a need to eat healthy, manufacturers will heavily market this to consumers, which can make some of their claims misleading or confusing. Be careful of the following statements, which are appearing on many products on the market today.

• “Made with whole grains”
  The front of a cracker box reads 5 grams of whole grain — you might expect it to be a high-fiber product, but the fiber content could be minimal. Five grams of whole grain does not equal five grams of fiber. In fact, 5 grams of whole grain is about one-sixth of an ounce of whole-wheat flour or oatmeal, essentially nothing. Yes, whole grains are healthy, yet any product worth its grain should have at least 3 to 6 (or more) grams of fiber per serving because of the whole grains it contains.
  
  Some cereal manufacturers have switched to whole grains, yet when it comes to children’s cereals, the supposedly wholesome switch doesn't help when the main ingredient is still sugar! Despite the whole-grain boost, many kids’ cereals are more like crunchy candy rather than a decent way to start the day.
  
  
• “Calorie-free food”
  Even if the label states zero calories per serving, this does not necessarily mean it is a zero-calorie food. According to law, any serving size that has less than 5 calories for the stated serving size can be listed as zero calories. So, this product may contain 4.99999 calories per serving. You can imagine the surprise on people's faces when they discover that no-calorie butter-flavored spray contains more than 900 calories in the bottle!
  
  Many people love the convenience of nonstick cooking sprays. The stated serving size is less-than-a-second spray. It’s very unlikely that any human finger can work that quickly, so most people are getting more oil than they think when using these products.
  
  
• "Baked" 
  The word baked does not always mean low fat. Baking versus frying usually means a lower-calorie food. This applies to foods like chicken and fish, but what about a baked cookie? The word “baked” on a cookie label is there to mislead you. Honestly, how else does one make a cookie other than by baking it in the oven? Other than at the county fair where they fry anything that is edible, cookies have always been baked with fat and sugar. A baked cookie is a cookie.
  

If you think it’s a high-fiber food, check the label to make sure there is at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. If it’s a zero-calorie-per-serving food, use the product cautiously to avoid getting excessive hidden calories. If you think baked automatically means low fat, check the label to make sure. And by all means, keep practicing those quick finger spritzes on those cans of nonstick cooking sprays!