Say it ain’t so! Forbes says yes, it so. A few days ago they published this article entitled Nine Ways Food Labels Mislead. (They created a fun slide-show for those who prefer coffee table books to novels.)
But that’s what I’m here for, to give you the highlights. Like this gem:
A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that examined 200 primary care patients’ comprehension of food labels showed, for instance, that only 32% could correctly calculate the amount of carbohydrates in a 20-ounce bottle of soda with multiple servings.
This tells us three shocking things about primary care patients:
- They don’t understand food labels.
- Their math skills are suspect.
- Apparently, some of them participate in studies.
But seriously, it should be no surprise that people don’t fully understand labels (even non-primary care patients), and that manufacturers clearly manipulate serving sizes to make the numbers more palatable. The article does give great advice though: focus on the ingredients.
(photo courtesy of Waldo Jaquith)
This is surprisingly easier than it seems. I should know, I’ve been an ingredient nazi for the last few weeks. If one brand of soy milk has 4 ingredients and the other has 3. Guess which one I go for? I pass on anything with ingredients that aren’t clearly whole foods or spices. That eliminates pretty much everything with the letter Z.
Another example mentioned in the article: Sara Lee has a “whole grain” bread product that actually only contains 30% whole grains. Obviously, Sarah Lee’s marketing efforts have clearly mislead consumers.
To make a long story short…
Ignore what it says on the front of the package. Then ignore what the nutrition label says. The list of ingredients, my friend, are where it’s at.
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