Think you’re making healthy choices at the grocery store? The truth behind food labels might surprise you.

Reading food labels can be challenging.

As more people focus on healthier lifestyles, some food manufacturers use marketing tactics that can make processed products appear more nutritious than they really are.

The complexity of food labeling regulations can add to the confusion, making it difficult for consumers to make informed choices.

This article breaks down how to read food labels effectively, helping you distinguish between genuinely healthy options and those that may be less wholesome than they seem.

One of the best tips may be to completely ignore claims on the front of the packaging.

Front labels are often designed to attract buyers by highlighting health-related claims, which may not always accurately reflect the product’s overall nutritional value.

In fact, 2020 research shows that front-of-package nutrition labels can create a “halo effect,” leading consumers to perceive even unhealthy products as healthier, which can influence their choices regardless of the food’s actual nutritional quality.

Manufacturers sometimes use health claims on labels in ways that can be misleading, and in some cases, the claims may not fully reflect the product’s actual nutritional content.

Examples include many high sugar breakfast cereals and granola brands that, despite front-of-package claims, are not actually healthy. It’s also important to remember that labels like “gluten-free” or “vegan” don’t necessarily mean a product is nutritious.

This makes it hard for consumers to choose healthy options without thoroughly inspecting the ingredients list.

SUMMARY

Front labels are often used to tempt people into buying products. However, some of these labels are highly misleading.

Product ingredients are listed by quantity, from the highest to the lowest amount. This means the manufacturer used the most of the first ingredient.

A good rule of thumb is to scan the first three ingredients, as they make up the largest part of what you’re eating.

Products that list refined grains, sugars, or hydrogenated oils as the first ingredients tend to be less nutritious.

Instead, try choosing items with whole foods listed as the first three ingredients. In addition, an ingredient list longer than two to three lines may be a sign that the product is highly processed.

SUMMARY

Ingredients are listed by quantity — from highest to lowest. Try looking for products that list whole foods as the first three ingredients and be skeptical of foods with long lists of ingredients.

Nutrition labels state how many calories and nutrients are in a standard amount of the product — often a suggested single serving. However, these serving sizes are frequently much smaller than people consume in one sitting.

For example, one serving may be half a can of soda, a quarter of a cookie, half a chocolate bar, or a single biscuit.

In doing so, manufacturers may lead consumers to believe that the food contains fewer calories and less sugar than it actually does.

Many people may not realize that a single package often contains multiple servings, mistakenly assuming the entire container represents just one.

If you’re interested in the nutritional value of your food, multiply the serving given on the back by the number of servings you consumed.

SUMMARY

Serving sizes listed on packaging may be misleading and unrealistic. Manufacturers often list much smaller amounts than what most people consume in one setting.

Health claims on packaged foods are often intended to attract attention and suggest that the product offers health benefits.

Here are some of the most common claims and what they mean:

  • Light: Light products are processed to reduce either calories or fat. Some products are simply watered down. Check carefully whether anything has been added instead — like sugar.
  • Multigrain: This sounds very healthy but only means that a product contains more than one type of grain. These are most likely refined grains — unless the product is marked as whole grain.
  • Natural: This doesn’t necessarily mean that the product resembles anything natural. It simply indicates that the manufacturer worked with a natural source, like apples or rice, at one point in the process.
  • Organic: This label says very little about whether a product is healthy. For example, organic sugar is still sugar.
  • No added sugar: Some products, like 100% fruit juice, are naturally high in sugar. The fact that they don’t have added sugar doesn’t mean they’re sugar-free, which can be a concern for people following low carb diets.
  • Low calorie: Low calorie products contain no more than 40 calories per serving for individual foods or no more than 120 calories per 100 grams for meals and main dishes. However, low calorie products can still be highly processed and may contain high levels of added sugar and sodium.
  • Low fat: This label sometimes means that the fat has been reduced at the cost of adding more sugar. Be very careful and read the ingredients list.
  • Low carb: Recently, low carb diets have been linked to improved health. Still, processed foods labeled low carb are usually still processed junk foods, similar to processed low fat foods.
  • Made with whole grains: The product may contain very little whole grains. Check the ingredients list — if whole grains aren’t in the first three ingredients, the amount is negligible.
  • Fortified or enriched: This means that some nutrients have been added to the product. For example, vitamin D is often added to milk. Yet, just because something is fortified doesn’t make it healthy.
  • Gluten-free: Gluten-free doesn’t mean healthy. The product simply doesn’t contain wheat, spelt, rye, or barley. Many gluten-free foods are highly processed and loaded with unhealthy fats and sugar.
  • Fruit-flavored: Many processed foods have a name that refers to a natural flavor, such as strawberry yogurt. However, the product may not contain any fruit — only chemicals designed to taste like fruit.

Despite these cautionary words, many truly healthy foods are organic, whole grain, or natural. Still, just because a label makes certain claims doesn’t guarantee that it’s healthy.

SUMMARY

Many marketing terms are associated with improved health. These are often used to mislead consumers into thinking that unhealthy, processed food is good for them.

Sugar goes by countless names, many of which you may not recognize.

Food manufacturers may use this to their advantage by adding many different types of sugar to their products to hide the actual amount.

In doing so, they can list a healthier ingredient at the top and mention sugar further down. So, even though a product may be loaded with sugar, it doesn’t necessarily appear as one of the first three ingredients.

To avoid accidentally consuming a lot of sugar, watch out for the following names of sugar in ingredient lists:

  • Types of sugar: beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered sugar, cane sugar, caster sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, golden sugar, invert sugar, muscovado sugar, organic raw sugar, rapadura sugar, evaporated cane juice, confectioner’s sugar
  • Types of syrup: carob syrup, golden syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey, agave nectar, malt syrup, maple syrup, oat syrup, rice bran syrup, rice syrup
  • Other added sugars: barley malt, molasses, cane juice crystals, lactose, corn sweetener, crystalline fructose, dextran, malt powder, ethyl maltol, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, galactose, glucose, disaccharides, maltodextrin, maltose

There are many more names for sugar, but these are the most common. The simplest way to know if a product contains added sugars is to check the Nutrition Facts label.

SUMMARY

Sugar goes by various names — many of which you may not recognize. These include cane sugar, invert sugar, corn sweetener, dextran, molasses, malt syrup, maltose, and evaporated cane juice.

One way to reduce the chances of being misled by product labels is to focus more on whole foods, which typically don’t require an ingredient list.

That said, if you choose to buy packaged foods, the tips in this article can help you make more informed choices and distinguish between heavily processed items and higher-quality options.