Confused by the multiple food labels and what is healthy or not? Do not fret, you are not alone. Many are confused by the marketing schemes of food manufacturers as to what is good and what is not. Here are some tips for making the decoding of labels less confusing. 
• Ingredients
What are the ingredients of the product? Are there more than five ingredients in the product? Are the listed ingredients known or for that matter pronounceable? The order in which the items are listed indicates the amount of that ingredient that that product contains, the first is the greatest.
When reading the ingredients list a key indicator is quantity, try to find foods with fewer then than five ingredients. But do not panic if you cannot some foods are going to have more and that is OK. The next thing you need to check is if you can pronounce each item listed and still know what it is you are reading. If you cannot read and understand the ingredients it is safe to say you should not be eating it.
• Serving sizes
What you consider to be an adequate serving size is often not what the manufacturer puts on the packaging. For example, an 8 oz diet soda may be a single serving for most, but according to the manufactures label it is two servings. To arrive at the true nutritional values you are going to have to double everything on the label, like the calories.
• Value is the key
When reviewing the ingredients like sodium, or the amount of salt that the product contains. The label will give you two sets of numbers first is the quality in mg the second is a percentage. But what does this mean to the general consumer. Let’s look at sodium again. The package might say sodium 200mg or 3%, but what do these numbers stand for and what do they mean for me? This is a good question the first is the amount of sodium found in the product. The second is a percentage based on a 2,000 calorie diet this number is how much that product’s serving size is equivalent to a daily dosage. (Remember if the serving size is only half of the can, then the amount of sodium is really 1,400mg if you drink the whole can). This % daily value is a great key for managing your numbers in a daily consumption of calories and nutrients.
Yet, there are some factors that do not have any daily percentage values next to them, such as sugar or trans fats. These are ingredients wise to stay away from it as much as possible.
Using these simple tools when choosing food is an effective way to better understanding what you are putting in your mouth, while also acting as a key for helping you manage your nutritional goals. These simple tools will also assist in providing greater support if you are looking to loose or maintain your weight and healthy lifestyle.
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