The Problem with "Healthy" Food Claims
Walk through any supermarket and you'll see labels screaming "low fat," "high protein," "natural," "sugar-free," and "wholesome." These marketing terms are largely unregulated and often misleading. Learning to read a nutrition label properly cuts through the noise and puts you back in control of what you're actually eating.
Step 1: Check the Serving Size First
This is the most common trap. A product might display impressive-looking macros — only for those numbers to apply to a 30g serving when the realistic portion is double or triple that. Always multiply the listed values by the number of servings you'll actually consume.
Tip: For snack foods, look for the "per 100g" column — it's the only consistent basis for comparing products.
Step 2: Understand the Key Nutrients
| Nutrient | What to Look For |
|---|---|
| Calories (Energy) | Total energy per serving and per 100g |
| Total Fat | Distinguish between unsaturated (beneficial) and saturated (limit) fats |
| Carbohydrates | Focus on "of which sugars" — less than 5g/100g is generally low |
| Fibre | More is better — aim for products with at least 3g/100g |
| Protein | Higher is generally beneficial for satiety and muscle maintenance |
| Salt/Sodium | Under 0.3g salt per 100g is low; above 1.5g is high |
Step 3: Decode the Ingredients List
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. The first three ingredients define what the product primarily is. Watch for:
- Hidden sugars — glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, corn syrup, and many others are all sugar under different names
- Refined oils — palm oil, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fats)
- Long, unrecognisable ingredient lists — a useful but imperfect proxy for ultra-processing
Common Marketing Claims Decoded
- "Low fat" — the fat has often been replaced with sugar to maintain palatability. Always check both.
- "Sugar-free" — may contain artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols (maltitol, sorbitol) that still affect digestion or blood sugar.
- "Natural" — has no legal definition in most countries. Means very little.
- "High protein" — check how much protein per 100g. Some products labelled "high protein" contain only marginally more than standard versions.
- "No added sugar" — the product may still be high in naturally occurring sugars from concentrated fruit juice.
A Practical Shopping Strategy
- Compare products by the per 100g column, not per serving
- Look for products where you recognise all the ingredients
- Prioritise high fibre, moderate protein, lower added sugar as your baseline criteria
- Don't be swayed by front-of-pack claims — always flip to the back
The Bigger Picture
Nutrition label literacy is a genuinely empowering skill. You don't need to obsess over every gram, but understanding what you're buying means you can make confident, informed choices rather than being guided by clever marketing. Over time, smarter food choices compound — and so do the health benefits that follow.