When you read a nutrition label, what do you look for first? If you're like many Americans, you answered "calories."
Calories are important, but what if you turned around two labels without knowledge of the products and realized that per serving, each had only 100 calories. Both seem pretty harmless. But consider that 18 large strawberries and 11 small gummy bears each have about 100 calories. The strawberries are full of fiber, potassium, folate and vitamin C -- nutrients that will enhance your health. The gummy bears are full of sugar, and other than a few gel stabilizers, nothing else. Although both are 100 calories, the quality of those calories isn't even comparable. Understanding the 100-calorie example and adapting a few other rules may be all you need to be savvy grocery store shopper.
If the ingredients are whole and understandable to the average individual (not a scientist) then you can assess the numbers and make your decision on whether to buy the product or not. The more ingredients the product has, the more likely it's not a great option for you. I see this all time with energy/protein bars.
A popular brand that many of my clients purchase has about 53 ingredients in it, many of which I can't even pronounce. The bar I choose to keep at my desk has three ingredients -- dates, almonds and unsweetened cherries. It tastes great, has about the same calories as the other bar (and even a little more healthy fat).
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