5 things to consider looking at on packaging (reading labels 101)
written by Jasmine Irven
I’m always advocating for a whole foods, plant-based diet; a way of celebrating the consumption of foods from nature, directly as they are. This means increasing nutrient intake from natural sources (vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc.), while minimizing nutrient-poor processed and packaged foods.
However, despite trying to embody this approach as much as possible, packaged foods can be hard to avoid! They line grocery store shelves with confusing labels, ingredient lists you can’t pronounce, and health claims you aren’t sure are accurate.
Nutrient labels can seem super overwhelming, so I’ve broken them down to let you know the 5 things you should consider looking at on packaging.
**Please note: intuitive eating means listening to your body and eating what you feel would serve you best in the moment & what your body is craving — I’m by no means suggesting you avoid eating something that you really want to and makes you happy! This is just for those who want a little more clarity on what things mean and what to watch out for if they’re trying to make general changes to their lifestyle that they know will better serve them.
**TW: if talk of serving sizes or ingredients is triggering for you please skip this blog post.
ingredient list
This is the list of ingredients that make up the packaged food. It’s important to consider all the ingredients listed:
Are they whole foods?
Do you recognize them?
Can you pronounce them?
The ingredients are listed in order of their prominence (by weight) in the product. So, the first item listed is the main ingredient, and then they progress from there.
Things to watch for:
Food additives and flavourings (aka chemicals).
Ingredients you can’t pronounce – they may be some type of chemical! If you aren’t sure, just do a quick Google search.
Ingredients ending in “-ose” – these are generally other ways to say sugar (i.e. glucose, fructose, sucrose, dextrose, lactose, maltose, etc.).
Syrups – again, these are another hidden sugar often added to foods to sweeten them. Specifically watch out for high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Extremely long ingredient lists. Remember, the goal is to be eating as close to the whole food as you can! If the company is adding a ton of other ingredients it should have you questioning why that’s the case.
An exception would be if there are a lot of vitamins and minerals, or beneficial additives in the product. You should be able to know the difference fairly quickly with a quick scan.
serving size
Serving size is likely the next thing you should look at when examining a package. It is found in the nutrition facts table. Quite often what the manufacturer has listed as a serving size is not proportional to what you would normally eat.
The other values on the label are based on the serving size, so it’s important to recognize how the amount compares to your normal consumption, and then do the math accordingly.
For example, if the label indicates the serving size is ¼ cup, and you know you normally eat at least 1 cup, you’re going to have to multiply the other values (like calories, sugar content, etc.) by 4.
It’s not wrong to eat more than the serving size! The serving sizes are often unrealistic. It’s simply important to note because if you see a lot of something (like sugar or trans-fat) that you’re already trying to avoid or minimize, it can be helpful to understand how much you’re consuming.
Note: the serving size is also important to consider if you’re comparing 2 foods side by side! One item may have slightly more sodium, but if the serving size is almost twice as much then proportionately that item is lower in sodium.
daily value (DV)
The daily value is also found in the nutrition facts table on the package. For each of the items in the nutrient list, you will see the amount expressed both as the weight of the nutrient such as grams or milligrams, and also as a percentage of a standard called the daily value.
This value is helpful in indicating if there is a lot or little of a nutrient in the food, and in helping consumers make comparisons between foods. The daily value is based on the nutritional needs of a person consuming 2000 kcalories daily (which is a pretty good estimate for most healthy adults, but most certainly not for everyone).
For example, let’s take a product that has 3mg of iron. Since the daily value for iron is 14mg, the percentage daily value for iron would be 21% (3mg/14mg) x 100 = 21%. This further means you still need to consume 80% of your iron intake from other sources in order to achieve your daily suggested value of iron.
On the other end of the spectrum, if a product contains 50% DV of sodium, and you decide to consume it, you might want to be conscious of what else you eat that day so you are not over-consuming a ton of salt.
You don’t need to make your life complicated by tracking percentages all day long, it’s just something to consider when making a food choice! To make things easier, consider using the general rule that 5% DV or less is considered a little, and 15% DV or more is considered a lot.
know what you want to maximize (bottom of the label)
Items like fibre, vitamins, and minerals are found at the bottom of the label. While some of these must be listed due to government regulations, others can be listed voluntarily.
These are things you want to maximize in your diet! They are most often prevalent in fruits, vegetables, and legumes (whole foods), but can also be found in some packaged foods, depending on the ingredients and/or if the food has been fortified with certain nutrients.
For these items, the DV can be a great way to help you choose products in which you can maximize these beneficial nutrients, to ensure you’re giving your body enough!
It is still possible to have too much of these nutrients, so be wary especially if you are taking additional supplements, but in general there are rarely toxic effects noticed from these nutrients when consumed naturally in the diet.
know what you want to minimize (middle of the label)
Nutrients like salt and sugar must be listed on the nutrition facts table. These are items you want to be aware of in your food, and minimize where possible/ where you want to.
In today’s society we are over-consuming these nutrients as they are additives in so much of our food, particularly if we eat at restaurants or fast food chains a lot.
When you have the ability to check a food label, consider noting the daily value for salt, sugar, trans fat, and saturated fat, which should generally be limited in the diet. Try to select foods with a small amount of these nutrients (i.e. a %DV less than 5).
Note that sugar content is based on a combination of all ingredients, even those from natural sources like fruits. If you’re looking at a product and it has 50% your DV for sugar but it is because the product has apples and mangoes in it and no other added sources of sugar, this is a much better alternative to something that has the same %DV but is filled with artificial sweeteners and no natural sugar sources.
Eating healthy shouldn’t be hard! It’s about getting back to the basics and choosing foods which nourish your body, providing you with the nutrients you need to function optimally.
I hope this quick guide gives you some insight into how to read food packaging, and that it will help you make more informed decisions moving forward.
Happy eating!!
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about the author
Hey there! I’m Jasmine, founder of the Sustainable Bliss Collective, a Certified Meditation Teacher, and lover of all things self-care, slow-living, and personal development.
I believe that ambition and self-care can coexist, and as such I hope to encourage and inspire you to take care of yourself, breathe deeply, connect with who you are, manifest your dreams, enjoy the blissful moments of each day, and make an impact in this beautiful world we call home.
Connect with me on Instagram here!
