One of the top pieces of advice I give to clients is to read nutrition labels. Many people’s reaction is “Why read labels? Can’t you just tell me what to eat??!!”. The answer is: it’s complicated.
Check this article if you don’t how to read food labels.
Why read labels?
While I am of the opinion most of the food you eat should not come with nutrition labels, the truth is we all eat things out of packages. In general, you should read labels if you care about what you put into your body.
Below are more specific reasons to read labels and some examples.
1. To check the ingredients
Reading the ingredients list in a label is essential for people with food allergies and sensitivities. By law, packaged foods in Australia and New Zealand need to declare major allergens on the label, so if you have a food allergy or sensitivity you should carefully read the ingredients list to check if the food is safe for you to eat.
If you don’t have food allergies or sensitivities but you want to minimise your intake of certain ingredients (for example, sugar, sodium or artificial sweeteners), you should read ingredients list.
Finally, the ingredients list will give you an indication of whether a food is ultra-processed or not.
Example:
Drinking chocolate
- Ingredients: Extract of malt barley or malt barley and rice (total extract 38%), milk solids, sugar, cocoa, choc malt blend, minerals (calcium, iron), maltodextrin (corn), vitamins (C, B3, B6, B2, D, B12), emulsifier (soy lecithin)
Contains gluten, milk and soy
2. To check the energy and macros
If total energy (calories) or macronutrient composition is important to you, you should definitely read labels.
Most importantly, you need to pay attention to the energy and/or nutrients per likely serving size you will ingest. In many cases, the serving size stated in the label is adequate (e.g. 2 slices of bread, 1 muesli bar), however sometimes the serving sizes are deceiving (most often than not, too small).
Example:
Chocolate-covered biscuit
- Quantity per serving: 401kJ (95.84kcal)
- Serving size: 1 biscuit
3. To check where the numbers are coming from
Even if a product says it contains X grams of protein, fat or sugar, in many cases you don’t really know where those grams come from unless you read labels. Why does this matter? Sugars can be natural or added. Fats can be saturated or unsaturated. Protein varies in quality depending on the source.
Example:
Yoghurt A
- Ingredients: Skim milk, live cultures
- Sugars: 5.3g per serving, coming from the lactose in the milk
Yoghurt B
- Ingredients: Yogurt skim milk concentrate, milk protein, water, cream (milk), sugar, live cultures (milk), fruit blend blueberries (5%), apple juice reconstituted, sugar, water, thickeners (1442, 415), natural flavours
- Sugars: 25.4g per serving, coming from the lactose in the milk, sugar (listed twice in the ingredients list), fruit, and reconstituted juice
4. To check if the claims at the front of the pack are meaningful
Regular baked beans
- Sodium per serving: 790mg
Salt reduced baked beans
- Sodium per serving: 690mg (-12.7% from the original version, but still too much considering most health organisations recommend eating less than 2000mg per day.
5. To compare alternative ingredients
It is useful to compare alternative ingredients based on your goals. This could mean similar products from different brands, similar products from the same brand, or even different products that could be eaten at the same occasion (e.g. breakfast, snack).
Example
Let’s say you have been told by your dietitian that you need to eat more protein at breakfast and you are looking for good options at the supermarket.
Protein breakfast cereal
- Protein per serving: 5.6g (4% of energy)
- Energy per serving: 616kJ
Note: the protein and energy will increase when consumed with milk but the actual numbers depend on the type of milk
Dairy-based protein yoghurt
- Protein per serving: 15.2g (16% of energy)
- Energy per serving: 381kJ
Plant-based protein yoghurt
- Protein per serving: 10.1g (4% of energy)
- Energy per serving: 941kJ
Protein muesli bar
- Protein per serving: 10.5g (5% of energy)
- Energy per serving: 824kJ
Low carb protein bar
- Protein per serving: 20g (11% of energy)
- Energy per serving: 744kJ
Protein breakfast drink
- Protein per serving: 17.7g (8% of energy)
- Energy per serving: 892kJ
[Photo by Franki Chamaki on Unsplash]
This website is for educational and informational purposes only. Click here if you need personalised nutrition advice.