Nutrition Diet: What Should You Look For on Labels and Avoid?

October 31, 2025 •

5 min read

According to the American Heart Association, the average person consumes about 3,400 mg of sodium per day, largely from packaged foods. Knowing what should you look for on labels and avoid is crucial for taking control of your health and making informed decisions about the food you eat.

Quick Summary

This guide provides a comprehensive breakdown of nutrition and ingredient labels, explaining key sections like serving sizes and daily values. It highlights critical nutrients to limit and common additives to avoid, helping you make healthier selections at the grocery store.

Key Points

Check Serving Size First: Always look at the serving size and servings per container before anything else, and calculate the actual nutritional content based on your intended portion.
Use the % Daily Value as a Guide: Aim for 5% DV or less for saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars, and 20% DV or more for beneficial nutrients like fiber, Vitamin D, and calcium.
Beware of Hidden Added Sugars: Read the ingredients list carefully, as sugar is often disguised under many different names, including corn syrup, dextrose, and evaporated cane juice.
Avoid Trans Fats: Look for and avoid "partially hydrogenated oils" in the ingredients list, as trans fats are harmful to heart health and can be present even if the label claims 0g.
Scrutinize Marketing Claims: Be skeptical of marketing buzzwords like "natural" and "low-fat," which are often misleading and don't reflect the product's true nutritional value.
Opt for Shorter Ingredient Lists: Products with shorter and more recognizable ingredient lists are generally less processed and a healthier choice.
Prioritize Whole Foods: The best way to avoid confusing and misleading labels is to choose whole foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains that don't have them.

Navigating the grocery store aisles can be overwhelming when faced with countless packaged products making enticing health claims. However, the real story of what’s inside a box is revealed not by the flashy front-of-package messaging, but by a careful read of the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredients list. By becoming a savvy label reader, you empower yourself to bypass marketing gimmicks and choose products that truly align with your health goals.

The Nutrition Facts Panel: What to Look For

Understanding the key components of the Nutrition Facts panel is the first step toward making smarter choices. This section provides a clear, quantitative breakdown of a product’s nutritional content.

Serving Size and Servings Per Container

Before you look at anything else, check the serving size and the number of servings per container. All the nutritional information that follows is based on this single serving amount, which can often be much smaller than what people typically consume. If a package contains multiple servings, you must multiply the values for calories, fats, and sugars to get the true nutritional impact of what you're eating. Always be mindful of this, as it can dramatically change a food’s perceived healthiness.

Percent Daily Value (%DV)

This column indicates how much a nutrient in one serving contributes to a 2,000-calorie daily diet. It is your quick-reference guide for a high-level assessment. A helpful rule of thumb is:

5% DV or less indicates a low amount of that nutrient per serving. For saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars, this is a target to aim for.
20% DV or more indicates a high amount of that nutrient per serving. Look for high %DV in beneficial nutrients like dietary fiber, Vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium.

Beneficial Nutrients to Prioritize

Pay close attention to these nutrients to ensure you’re getting the most out of your food:

Dietary Fiber: Promotes healthy digestion and helps you feel full longer. Aim for at least 3 grams per serving.
Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium: These are nutrients Americans often fall short on. Choosing foods with higher levels of these can reduce the risk of certain health conditions.

Navigating the Ingredients List: What to Avoid

The ingredients list provides the most direct information about the quality of the product, as ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. The first three ingredients are the most abundant and, therefore, the most important to check.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Other Added Sugars

Sugar is often the first ingredient in many cereals, snacks, and condiments, and manufacturers use dozens of different names to disguise it. Be a detective and look for these common aliases:

Corn syrup, corn sweetener
Dextrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, sucrose
Evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrate
Honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, molasses
Maltodextrin

Trans Fats (Partially Hydrogenated Oils)

Trans fat is a man-made fat created by adding hydrogen to liquid oils to extend shelf life and improve texture. It is known to be harmful to heart health by raising "bad" LDL cholesterol and lowering "good" HDL cholesterol. While labels can claim "0g trans fat" if there is less than 0.5g per serving, checking the ingredients for "partially hydrogenated oils" is the only surefire way to avoid it.

Excessive Sodium

Most processed foods are loaded with sodium, contributing to high blood pressure and other heart-related issues. Limit your intake by choosing products with lower sodium content. Look for phrases like "low sodium" (<140mg per serving) or check for less than 500mg per meal. Be aware that even sweet items like cakes and biscuits can contain surprising amounts of salt.

Artificial Additives and Preservatives

Many artificial additives and preservatives have been linked to health concerns and are best avoided. Common examples to look out for include:

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG): A flavor enhancer that can cause adverse reactions in sensitive individuals.
Artificial Colors (e.g., Red 40, Yellow 5 & 6): Linked to hyperactivity in children and other health risks.
Sodium Nitrite/Nitrate: Preservatives used in processed meats that can form carcinogens.
Artificial Sweeteners (e.g., Aspartame, Sucralose): May disrupt gut bacteria and metabolism.

Comparison: Decoding a Cereal Label

To illustrate the difference a label can make, consider this comparison between two hypothetical cereals:


Feature	Fluffy Frosted Flakes (Marketing-Heavy)	Simple Sprouted Oats (Ingredient-Focused)
Front Claim	"Made with Whole Grains!" "Fortified with Vitamins!"	"100% Whole Grain" "No Added Sugar"
Ingredient List	Sugar, Corn Syrup, Degerminated Corn Meal, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, Artificial Colors (Yellow #5, Red #40), BHT	100% Sprouted Whole Grain Oats
Added Sugars (%DV)	25% DV (10 grams) per serving	0% DV (0 grams) per serving
Sodium (%DV)	10% DV (230mg) per serving	0% DV (0mg) per serving
Fiber (%DV)	3% DV (less than 1g) per serving	16% DV (4g) per serving
Trans Fats	Contains partially hydrogenated oil	0g

Avoid Misleading Marketing Claims

Many marketers use clever tricks to make their products sound healthier than they are. Here’s what to look out for:

"Natural": The FDA has no clear definition for "natural" food beyond not containing artificial flavors or colors. This term is a marketing buzzword and offers no guarantee of quality.
"Low-Fat" or "Light": When fat is removed, flavor is often sacrificed. Manufacturers commonly compensate by adding large amounts of sugar, making the product high in empty calories.
"Made with Whole Grains": This can be highly misleading. Unless "whole grain" is listed as one of the first few ingredients, the amount is likely negligible.
"Organic": While indicating farming practices, the organic label doesn't guarantee a product is low in sugar, fat, or calories. Organic cookies are still cookies.

Conclusion

Understanding what to look for and what to avoid on nutrition labels is an essential skill for anyone serious about their diet and health. By checking the serving size, examining the ingredients list for hidden sugars and unhealthy fats, and critically evaluating marketing claims, you can make powerful, informed decisions. Prioritize products with simple, whole-food ingredients and aim for high fiber and low added sugar, sodium, and trans fat content. This simple habit can lead to profound and lasting improvements in your overall well-being.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hidden sugars can be identified by looking for different names like corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, maltose, and concentrated fruit juices. Because ingredients are listed by weight, check if any of these terms are among the first few ingredients.

When comparing two similar products, use the 'per 100g' or 'per 100mL' column on the Nutrition Facts panel, as this standardizes the measurement and provides a fairer comparison than using the variable serving sizes.

A 'low-fat' or 'reduced-fat' claim doesn't necessarily mean a product is healthy. It often indicates that fat has been replaced with higher levels of sugar to improve taste. Always check the ingredients and nutritional information to confirm.

Partially hydrogenated oils contain artificial trans fats, which are known to increase 'bad' LDL cholesterol and decrease 'good' HDL cholesterol, increasing your risk of heart disease. They are also linked to type 2 diabetes.

Artificial colors and flavors can be linked to health concerns such as hyperactivity in children. Choosing products with natural ingredients for coloring and flavoring is generally a safer bet, and a shorter ingredients list is often a sign of less artificial additives.

For most people, it is best to aim for less than 150mg of sodium per serving or 500mg per meal. The recommended daily limit is generally no more than 2,300 mg per day.

For nutrients you want to limit, like saturated fat and added sugars, a low %DV is preferred. A food with 5% DV or less per serving is considered low, while 20% or more is high.