How to read food labels

Food manufacturers don’t want us to know exactly what’s inside the food we eat. In countries such as Canada and the United States food labels can be very confusing. Calculating the real percentage of each ingredient may be a very challenging task for nonexperts. Such labels give you the false impression that your food is rich in "healthy" nutrients and low in "bad" ones. I have discussed the issue in the "How to Read Food Labels" chapter of the book. In that particular example the label suggested that the total carbohydrate content was 13%, however 67% of the food consisted of carbohydrates. On the other hand we were under the impression that the food consisted of 14% dietary fiber, however the real fiber content turned out to be only 7%. To make your life easier, I wrote a calculator program that helps you to decode the labels of North American food products. First, you need to enter the serving size, as shown on the label. If for example it says 5 ounces, enter "5" into the first box and select "ounces" from the list. Second, enter the weight of the nutrient as shown on the label. If it is 10 grams, enter "10" into the second box and select "grams" from the second list. Then click "calculate". The next screen will show you the percentage of the given nutrient.

Warning!

One United States customary cup is equal to 236 milliliters. Some food manufacturers however may refer to different "cup" units that have significantly less volume. If the label shows both cups and grams, use grams for your calculations since cup sizes may vary.