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Navigating grocery store shelves can be exhausting. Trying to buy foods that are healthy, delicious, and good for the environment can be difficult, especially when boxes and bags are covered with labels touting various nutritional claims.
How do you know what’s what? You don’t exactly, but you can help yourself by understanding what manufacturers are trying to say when they slap these terms and labels on packaged food. It’s always best to buy food that doesn’t have labels (produce, meat, dairy products), but if you must buy an occasional package, look out for these widely used terms.
All Natural
What you’re supposed to think: You see this and you have visions of foods growing in nature; plants, raw foods, and food that is good for you.
What it actually means: Nothing. There is no regulation to the usage of this term, so it’s very often overused by food manufacturers. Products with ingredients like high fructose corn syrup are often labeled as “all natural,” when in reality, it’s made in a manufacturing plant.
Low Fat
What you’re supposed to think: You may be envisioning something that is healthy and that you can eat unlimited amounts of, but this is far from true.
Decades ago, it was thought by many dieters that fat was the enemy of their waistlines, so food manufacturers came up with a away to sell products to these dieters to avoid losing money.
What it actually means: It technically does mean low fat, but it doesn’t mean it’s lower in anything else. In fact, products marked low fat are often also high in sugar or other chemicals to make up for the flavor the loss of fat brings.
Low Calorie
What you’re supposed to think: If you count calories, these types of products were made for you. Calories are bad for you right?
What it actually means: It means that these products are low in calories, but that is all. If it’s a snack, it will have less than 40 calories; a meal, less than 120. It doesn’t mean that these calories will fill you up, or that they will come from healthy ingredients.
Multigrain
What you’re supposed to think: Grains are good for you, and these have “multiple” grains, so it must be good for you.
What it actually means: It means that more than one type of grain was used to make the product, but it doesn’t mean that it is a whole grain. In fact, many multigrain products are made with grains that have been refined and stripped of all nutrition. If you want something made with “whole” grains, it must be labeled as such. A label marked “100 percent whole grains” is best.
No Sugar Added
What you’re supposed to think: Sugar is bad, and this doesn’t have sugar in it, so it must be good for me.
What it actually means: It means exactly what it says, that there is no sugar “added.” It does not mean it is sugar free or that it is good for you. Fruit juices are an example of a product that often uses this label. They don’t have any sugar added, but since all the good stuff is stripped from the fruit when made into juice, it’s not exactly a product friendly to those watching their sugar intake.
Sugar Free
What you’re supposed to think: It doesn’t say “no sugar added,” it says “sugar free,” so this one definitely doesn’t have sugar.
What it actually means: Products with these labels don’t have sugar in them, but remember, when trying to decipher food labels, it’s not always about what’s not in them, but what’s in them instead. Products that are labeled sugar free are often foods like cookies, candies, cereals, and other sweet foods. If they’re still sweet without sugar, what gives them that taste? Usually artificial sweeteners, which some studies show, are worse for you than sugar. Combined with the fact that they rarely taste as good, this is one gimmick you probably want to avoid.
Heart Healthy
What you’re supposed to think: If it’s good for your heart, it must be healthy and nutritious.
What it actually means: These foods must be low in fat (less than 3 grams per serving), and have a certain amount of soluble fiber, but otherwise, this is kind of misleading. Why? Because the foods that are best for your heart won’t be labeled as such. If you are truly concerned about preventing or treating heart disease, skip packaged foods and head to the produce aisle.
Gluten-Free
What you’re supposed to think: Everyone’s doing it; gluten free must be healthy right?
What it actually means: As far as what the label says, food with this buzz word slapped on its package, are in fact, gluten free. This means they do not contain gluten, which is a protein found in wheat. It does not mean healthy, and eating a gluten free diet may or may not help those that haven’t been diagnosed with an intolerance. Plenty of foods that are otherwise unhealthy are also gluten free: sugar, refined grains that don’t contain wheat, and plenty of chemicals and preservatives. There’s nothing inherently wrong with going gluten free, and there are plenty of healthy, gluten-free dishes out there; just make sure you’re clear exactly what it means and doesn’t mean.
Made with Real Fruit
What you’re supposed to think: It’s made with real fruit, so it must be good.
What it actually means: This is one of the most misleading items on the list. Technically, many products with this label are made with real fruit. Which fruit, however, or which part of the fruit is a different story. And yes, it makes a difference. You see, fruit is high in nutrients, but it’s also high in fructose, which is just sugar. Take away the good stuff from the fruit and all you’re left with is sugar, and zero nutrients. It’s why fruit juice is bad for you. If you want to eat fruit for its many health benefits, go to the produce aisle and get yourself an apple. Do not fall for this nutrition label scam.
Organic
What you’re supposed to think: When you hear the word organic, you probably think of farms, clean air, and healthy nutritious food.
What it actually means: It means that the ingredients that in the product are organic, which means grown without pesticides. It doesn’t mean healthy, nutritious, low in calories, or sugar free. An organic cookie is a cookie. Unless it’s on a sign in the produce aisle, organic doesn’t mean it’s a “whole” food, and it doesn’t mean it wasn’t made in a manufacturing plant.
Conclusion
The next time you’re at the grocery store wandering the aisles looking for the perfect food, don’t be allured by food labels and their enticing claims. While some are regulated, many simply are not. This means that manufactures can use them however they want, knowing that uneducated consumers will buy into the “low fat”, “sugar free”, or “made with real fruit” hype. Don’t be an uneducated consumer. Learn the meaning of these labels, and remember the most important rule when buying healthy, nutritious food: The healthiest food on the planet doesn’t have labels describing it as such.