Sometimes the most useful information isn’t what the label tells us, but knowing what we’re looking for.
What do nutritionists, health coaches, and wellness newsletters want us to do now?
Apparently, eating a healthy diet isn’t enough anymore. We should also read food labels.
All of them?
Seriously?
I have a confession to make. Reading food labels is actually how I first noticed that my eyesight was getting worse.
Who decided that so much information should be printed in such tiny letters? And sometimes in two languages, on a package barely big enough for one?
Of course, I’m glad the information is there. We should know what’s in our food. Ingredients, nutritional values, allergens. Transparency matters.
But standing in the supermarket, holding a package farther and farther away, trying to find better lighting, and convincing myself that the print must have become smaller lately?
That was quite an experience.
Eventually, I had to accept that the problem might not be the packaging.
Yes, coaches get older, too.
So now I have my glasses. And I can read the labels again.
But that raises another question.
Just because we can read all this information, does that mean we need to?
What Are We Actually Looking For?
Food labels can tell us a lot.
Calories. Carbohydrates. Protein. Fat. Sugar. Salt or sodium. Sometimes fiber. And, of course, the ingredients.
But knowing these numbers doesn’t automatically tell us whether a food is a good choice for us.
That depends on what we’re trying to achieve.
If our goal is simply to eat a generally healthy, balanced diet, a few principles can guide us:
- Variety and quality. Include plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and other nutritious foods.
- Balance. Think about fiber, protein, and the types of fats we eat, rather than focusing exclusively on calories.
- The bigger picture. Our overall eating patterns matter more than any single food or meal.
None of this requires us to analyze every package in the supermarket.
Reading food labels isn’t another rule. It’s a tool. And like any tool, it’s most useful when we know what we’re looking for.
Let’s Give Fiber Some Credit
In German, dietary fiber is called Ballaststoffe.
And honestly, that doesn’t sound particularly appealing.
Ballast suggests something heavy, unnecessary, something we’d rather get rid of.
The English word fiber sounds much better to me. Something that provides structure. Something useful.
And useful it certainly is.
Dietary fiber can support digestion, contribute to feeling satisfied after meals, and, depending on the type, help manage blood cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Certain fibers also provide nourishment for beneficial gut bacteria.
We’ve talked about fiber maxing before, one of those nutrition trends that can turn a sensible recommendation into yet another optimization challenge.
But we don’t have to maximize everything.
Sometimes we can simply ask a practical question:
Which of these two packaged mueslis provides more fiber?
A quick look at the nutrition information can help us compare them, provided the fiber content is listed. We might also notice differences in sugar content.
Suddenly, reading the label has a purpose.
Not because someone told us to study every ingredient, but because we’re looking for something relevant to us.
What About Those Scores on the Front?
If you’ve shopped for food in Germany or elsewhere in Europe, you may have noticed the Nutri-Score.
It’s a color-coded rating from A, in dark green, to E, in orange-red.
It summarizes selected nutritional characteristics, including sugar, saturated fat, salt, and fiber, using a standardized calculation.
That can be helpful when comparing foods we might choose for a similar purpose.
But an A doesn’t automatically mean that a food is ideal for everyone. And an E doesn’t mean that we must never eat it.
An A isn’t even a guarantee that a product is low in sugar. If sugar is what we’re specifically interested in, we still need to check the nutrition information.
The Nutri-Score is a useful guide, not a personal nutrition plan.
In the United States, packaged foods typically display a Nutrition Facts panel with values per serving.
Which raises another question.
Who decided how big my serving is?
Serving sizes follow standardized reference amounts based on what people typically consume. They’re not recommendations for how much we should eat.
If I eat twice the listed serving, I generally consume twice the listed nutrients and calories.
Useful information, as long as I remember what quantity those numbers actually describe.
And Then There Are the Apps
Of course, we can also use apps to scan barcodes, compare nutritional values, or look more closely at ingredients. And increasingly, we can ask AI for help.
That can be convenient.
But the answers depend on the data, the criteria, and the questions we ask.
A scanner might tell me how much sugar a product contains. It cannot automatically decide whether that amount makes sense for my health, my goals, or my everyday life.
Technology can provide information. Understanding what matters to us still requires context.
But Wait. What About the Banana?
Imagine standing in the supermarket, wondering whether to buy a banana.
You’ve heard that carbohydrates matter. You’ve read something about blood sugar. Maybe an app has encouraged you to pay closer attention to sugar.
And suddenly, a perfectly ordinary banana becomes a nutritional dilemma.
Does it have too many carbohydrates?
My favorite answer?
It depends.
Too many for what? For whom? Compared with what?
A banana provides carbohydrates, yes. It also provides fiber and other nutrients.
Whether it fits your needs depends on your overall eating pattern, your activity, your health situation, and what you’re trying to achieve.
The problem isn’t the banana.
It’s what happens when we take one piece of nutritional information and try to turn it into a universal rule.
The Right Glasses Make a Difference
I now wear glasses when I need to read those tiny food labels.
But I’ve come to think that there’s another kind of lens we need when making food choices.
One that helps us distinguish between information that’s available and information that’s actually relevant.
Sometimes a food label helps us compare the fiber content of two breakfast cereals, check sodium levels, or understand what’s in a packaged meal.
Sometimes an app makes that easier.
And sometimes a conversation with a qualified professional can help us put the information into the context of our own lives.
But none of these tools should make eating feel more complicated than it needs to be.
Healthy eating isn’t about knowing every number on every package. It’s about understanding enough to make choices that work for you.
And if you’re standing in the supermarket wondering whether your banana has too many carbohydrates?
Maybe the first thing to ask isn’t what the label says.
Maybe it’s what you’re actually trying to find out.
Food for Thought. Structure for Change.