1. You’re Not Paying Attention to Serving Size
The calories and macronutrient grams listed on a nutrition label are usually in relation to serving size. Many of us eat much more than the serving size listed—which can be deceiving as servings may be portioned smaller to make the product appear healthier. For example, those “healthy” smoothies sold in the grocery store. You may think you’re getting 120 calories and maybe 20 grams of sugar, when in reality the bottle contains 2.5 servings—oops. True, there may be some good nutrients in there, but with 2.5 servings that’s a lot more calories and sugar than you may have intended.
2. You’re Not Getting Enough Nutrients
You may think you’re getting enough nutrients such as vitamins, but you’re not. The vitamin content is based on the minimum recommended daily allowance (RDA)—an outdated and likely inadequate recommendation that hasn’t been revised in decades. Don’t rely on packaged foods for your intake of vitamins and minerals. Instead, rely on fresh fruits and vegetables and a multi-vitamin supplement for your intake. In the case of calcium, this may be particularly true. Women and kids typically need more calcium than men, yet the recommended daily allowance of calcium is listed the same.
3. Or You’re Getting Too Much…
Sometimes product values are given as a percentage based on either a 2,000 or 2,500 calories per day diet. That may be helpful if a person actually keeps track of their intake throughout the day. Otherwise, it has little meaning or can even lead one to eat something thinking “well, it is only 25% of my fat for the day,” and not consider what is really happening. If you have that train of thought 6 – 7 times a day with products containing similar percentages—guess what? You just ate 75% more fat than you were supposed to for the day. Yikes.
4. You Think Certain Words Are Healthy, But Sometimes, They Aren’t
Sometimes the words manufacturers use to market their products can be misleading. It’s important to understand the benefits that are of value to you in a product and define it for yourself before you go searching for it. Example, how do you define the term “organic”? If eating organic foods are important to you, then look for products labeled with a “certified organic or USDA organic” seal to be sure. Labeling on packages may not necessarily be untruthful, but can be deceptive.