How To Read A Food Label (And What To Actually Look For)
Food labels are designed to confuse. Here is how to read them quickly and make better decisions in the supermarket aisle.
Dejan Koceski
Health & Performance Coach · Melbourne
How To Read A Food Label (And What To Actually Look For)
Food labels are designed partly to inform and partly to market. Understanding the difference makes you a significantly better consumer.
The Nutrition Panel
Always check per 100g, not per serving. Serving sizes are set by manufacturers and are frequently unrealistically small — making the product appear healthier than it is.
Protein. Prioritise foods with meaningful protein content. A protein bar with 5g of protein per 100g is not a protein bar.
Total fat vs. saturated fat. Total fat is not the enemy. Saturated fat in large amounts warrants attention. Trans fat should be zero or near-zero.
Sugar. More than 10g per 100g is high sugar. More than 15g is very high. A product that claims to be healthy with 18g of sugar per 100g is misleading you.
Fibre. More fibre is better. 6g per 100g is a good benchmark for a high-fibre food.
Sodium. More than 600mg per 100g is high sodium.
The Ingredients List
The ingredients list is frequently more informative than the nutrition panel.
Ingredients are listed by weight — the first ingredient is the most abundant.
A bread that lists "whole wheat flour" first is different from one that lists "enriched white flour" first.
A product with a long ingredients list full of items you cannot pronounce is a processed product. The nutrition panel may look acceptable, but the quality of those nutrients is often poor.
A simple rule: if you cannot imagine the ingredient in its natural state, question why it is in your food.
Health Claims
"Low fat," "natural," "no added sugar," and "wholesome" are marketing terms. They have minimal regulatory constraint.
Low-fat often means high-sugar — fat is replaced with sugar to maintain palatability. Read the actual panel, not the claim.
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