Do you know how to read a food label? Are you able to know it is a good product to consume? Here are some tips to help you.

Personal Story

My journey into reading product labels took a steep incline when I found out I was gluten intolerant. Knowing what I am consuming is important to my comfort, since I break out with an itchy rash when I consume or apply a product with gluten. The itch can last for months! I now take product label reading seriously.

Reading Labels 101

This blog has general information on reading nutrition labels. I’ll give information for those suffering with food allergies in another post.

What Is on a Nutrition Label?

• “Serving size” tells how much of the product to eat at a time.
• Calories is how much energy the product gives you.
• Nutrients to limit- ideally the product is lower in sodium and sugar.
• Nutrients to get enough of- such as protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• Larger packages include footnotes and do not change from product to product.
• Ingredient list tells every ingredient in the product.

What to Know About Ingredients

1. The fewer number of ingredients, the better.
2. It is great read the list and recognize the items as real food.
3. The ingredients are listed in order of the percentage of the ingredient in the product. The first item on the list has the largest percentage of the product.
4. If the product has high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oil, it would be better not to eat it.
5. If the product has preservatives, artificial flavorings, or artificial colorings, avoid the product, if you can.

Action Step

Reading nutrition labels is an important endeavor to learn so you can feed your body healthful foods.

Resources:

https://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ucm274593.htm

http://www.personal-nutrition-guide.com/nutrition-label.html

May God bless your healthful endeavors!

Joni

P.S. Please encourage others by writing in the comment section.