How to Read Food Labels: Nutrition Facts, Serving Sizes, and Misleading Claims Explained
The nutrients to look for, the numbers that mislead, and how to make smarter grocery decisions
Understanding how to read a food label is one of the most powerful skills you can develop for protecting your health. Yet for many people, nutrition labels are confusing, misleading, or falsely reassuring—especially when packaging uses words like healthy, natural, or all-natural.
Many products marketed as “better for you” still contain unnecessary additives, excessive sugars, refined oils, or poor-quality ingredients that work against long-term health goals (2).
This article is designed to help you read food labels with clarity, understand what truly matters on the Nutrition Facts panel, and recognize common marketing tactics that distort reality. Rather than focusing on every possible toxin, this guide teaches you how to evaluate foods accurately so you can make confident grocery decisions.
For a deeper breakdown of hidden additives, preservatives, and chemical loopholes in modern foods, see
→ Hidden Toxins in Food Labels (Part 1)
How to Read a Nutrition Facts Label Correctly
When you turn a package over, the Nutrition Facts panel provides structured information—but only if you know how to interpret it properly. A standard food label is divided into several sections, each serving a specific purpose in evaluating food quality and nutritional impact (1).
Understanding how these sections work together—not in isolation—is essential for making informed choices.
Serving Size: The Most Commonly Misunderstood Section
Serving size is the foundation of the entire Nutrition Facts label. Every calorie, nutrient, and percentage listed is based on one serving, not the entire package.
Manufacturers frequently manipulate serving sizes to make products appear lower in calories or sugar than they truly are. If you consume more than one serving—which most people do—you must multiply every value accordingly (7).
This is one of the most common ways consumers unknowingly exceed recommended intake of sugar, refined carbohydrates, and sodium.
Calories vs. Nutrient Quality
Calories represent energy, not nutritional value.
Two foods with identical calorie counts can have vastly different effects on metabolism, blood sugar regulation, and inflammation depending on ingredient quality and nutrient density (8).
Highly processed foods often provide calories without meaningful nutrients, while whole foods deliver energy alongside fiber, minerals, antioxidants, and bioavailable vitamins that support metabolic health.
Nutrients: What to Prioritize—and What to Limit
The nutrients section of a food label is helpful when viewed in context. Rather than focusing on isolated numbers, look for patterns.
Ingredients that commonly signal lower-quality foods include:
Added sugars
Refined carbohydrates
These ingredients contribute to insulin dysregulation, inflammation, and metabolic stress when consumed regularly, particularly in packaged foods (5,6).
→ Hormone & Metabolic Optimization
→ Advanced Functional Lab Testing
Percent Daily Value (%DV): Why It’s Often Misleading
The Percent Daily Value (%DV) is intended to show how much a nutrient contributes to a daily intake, but it has limitations.
%DV values are based on generalized population estimates and do not reflect individual metabolic needs, activity level, health status, or nutrient bioavailability (3).
As a result, %DV should be considered informational—not definitive.
Why the Ingredients List Matters Most
While the Nutrition Facts panel provides numbers, the ingredients list reveals food quality.
Ingredients are listed in order of weight, meaning the first few ingredients make up the majority of the product. Foods with long ingredient lists or unfamiliar chemical names are typically more processed and less nutrient-dense.
When No Label Is Required, There’s Nothing to Decode
One of the simplest ways to reduce confusion around food labels is to choose foods that do not require a label at all.
Single-ingredient whole foods—such as fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, and whole fats—are not required to carry Nutrition Facts labels because they are not processed. When food remains close to its natural state, there is no ingredient list to interpret, no serving size manipulation, and no marketing language to decode.
This does not mean every packaged food is harmful, but it highlights an important principle: the more a food requires explanation, the more scrutiny it deserves.
Building meals around whole, unprocessed foods naturally limits exposure to added sugars and refined ingredients while supporting nutrient density and metabolic health (3,8).
→ Gut Health & Digestive Restoration
→ Detoxification & Environmental Medicine
Food Label Ingredients to Be Aware Of
Many packaged foods contain ingredients that do not support long-term health. While not every additive is inherently harmful, frequent consumption of highly processed foods increases dietary stress and metabolic burden (4,6).
Common ingredients to be mindful of include added sugars, refined oils, flavor enhancers, and preservatives—especially when they appear early in the ingredient list.
Misleading Food Label Claims to Watch For
Food packaging often uses marketing terms that sound healthy but have little regulatory meaning.
Common examples include:
“Natural”
“Multigrain”
“No cholesterol”
“Made with whole grains”
These claims can distract from ingredient quality and nutritional composition, making it essential to verify claims by reading the full label (2,4).
Nutrition Facts That Support Health
Modern diets are often low in nutrient density due to soil depletion, food processing, and reliance on packaged foods. Many individuals are deficient in key nutrients that support metabolic and immune health (3).
Nutrients commonly under-consumed include:
Dietary fiber
Vitamin D
Magnesium
B vitamins
Essential fatty acids
Understanding individual nutrient needs is best approached through personalized assessment rather than fortified processed foods, which often provide synthetic or poorly absorbed forms (8).
Understand Your Nutrient Needs and Make Confident Food Choices
Learning how to read food labels puts you back in control of your health—but knowledge is only the first step. Everyone’s nutritional needs are different, influenced by lifestyle, stress, metabolic health, gut function, toxic load, genetics, and overall physiology.
Trying to overhaul your diet all at once can feel overwhelming and often leads to frustration or burnout. A more effective approach is to understand what your body actually needs and make targeted, sustainable changes over time.
At Denver Sports & Holistic Medicine, we help patients translate food label knowledge into personalized nutrition strategies. Through in-depth consultations and advanced functional lab testing, we identify nutrient deficiencies, metabolic imbalances, and underlying factors that influence how your body responds to food.
From there, we create a clear, step-by-step plan tailored to you—covering nutrition, lifestyle support, and targeted supplementation when appropriate.
If you’re ready to move beyond confusion and make food choices with confidence, you can request a free 15-minute consultation with Dr. Martina Sturm to discuss your goals and determine the next best steps for your health.
Frequently Asked Questions About Reading Food Labels
What is the most important part of a food label to read first?
The most important place to start is the serving size, because every calorie, nutrient, and percentage on the label is based on that amount. Misleading serving sizes are one of the most common ways packaged foods appear healthier than they actually are.
Are calories the best way to judge whether a food is healthy?
No. Calories measure energy, not food quality. Two foods with the same calorie count can have very different effects on blood sugar, inflammation, and metabolism depending on their ingredients and nutrient density.
Why can the Percent Daily Value (%DV) be misleading?
Percent Daily Value is based on generalized population estimates and does not reflect individual needs, health status, or nutrient absorption. It should be viewed as reference information rather than a definitive indicator of food quality.
Why does the ingredients list matter more than marketing claims?
The ingredients list shows what a product is actually made of, listed in order of weight. Marketing terms like “natural,” “healthy,” or “multigrain” are not tightly regulated and can distract from poor ingredient quality.
Is it better to choose foods without a nutrition label?
Often, yes. Single-ingredient whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, eggs, meats, and natural fats do not require labels because they are not processed. When a food has no label, there is nothing to decode—making it one of the simplest ways to reduce confusion.
Are all packaged foods unhealthy?
No. Not all packaged foods are problematic, but they require closer evaluation. The goal is not to eliminate packaged foods entirely, but to understand how to read labels so you can distinguish higher-quality options from highly processed ones.
What nutrition facts should I prioritize when reading labels?
Rather than focusing on one number, look at overall patterns. Prioritize foods with minimal added sugars, meaningful fiber, and simple ingredient lists made from recognizable whole-food sources.
How can I know which nutrients my body needs more of?
Nutrient needs vary based on lifestyle, digestion, stress, metabolism, and overall health. Personalized evaluation—rather than relying on fortified processed foods—helps identify which nutrients you may be lacking and why.
Resources
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)- How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health- Understanding Food Labels
National Institutes of Health (NIH)- Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Environmental Working Group (EWG)- EWG’s Food Scores: How to Read Food Labels
Harvard Health Publishing- The Truth About Added Sugar
PubMed- Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Risk of Obesity and Metabolic Disease
PMC- Serving Size and Portion Size: How Food Labels Influence Consumption
Journal of Nutrition- Nutrient Density Versus Energy Density in Foods