Reading Food Labels

Don't let food labels fool you. Learn the top tricks to become a label detective.

Food labels can be misleading. Many food products make health claims to lure you into buying. But just because a product is labeled "natural" or "healthy," doesn't mean it is!

Ingredients weren't on my radar until I actually stopped to wonder what exactly I'm eating, more than just the calories and macros. I like to opt for whole foods most of the time, but that's not always realistic and sometimes it's nice to have something packaged, processed and delicious.

BUT, I still like my packaged products to be actual food. Not chemicals, colors, preservatives or something way too overloaded with sugar. Not because I think this stuff will kill me instantly, but because if I can eat actual food, I'd rather eat actual food and not something that was made in a lab.

For example, zoom in on this Hu brand dark chocolate made with real ingredients, versus this Hershey's with ingredients that are like "first of all, what is that and second, whyyy." Of course so much of the info about nutrition out there is controversial so the way I look at it is:

If there's a chance it's bad for me, I'll just choose real food instead. Rather not have a stomach ache and something that could be bad for me in the long run.

Plus, I know that it's these additives that leave me craving more. As much as I like to enjoy treats, I don't want treats to disrupt my gut and leave me desperately going back for more.

So you'd think reading a food label would be pretty straightforward, right? Well... there are definitely some sneaky tricks that companies use to disguise the not-so-healthy stuff in their food products, like sugars, colors and dyes.

Luckily, once you know the right tricks, it's easy to sort out the junk from the good stuff. You can start here!

Hope that helps you navigate the grocery store and food labels while you're shopping!