3 Underrated Things To Know About Your Nutrition Labels, From An MD

Nutrition labels are notoriously difficult to unpack. If you've ever spent an ample amount of time mulling over the fine print in the supermarket, you know just how confusing they can be upon first glance. That said, there's certainly a case for simplifying these labels, so shoppers can peruse grocery store aisles with ease. 

According to Lustig, there's a reason produce without labels is known as "whole" foods: When there's a label, it means something was either added in or taken out. Now, when you peer at nutrition facts, you might be thinking about what's inside of the food—but Lustig says you should pay just as much attention to what's removed. 

"Stuff that's been taken out, that's not listed anywhere on the food," he says. "Really, what we should be talking about is what's been put in versus what's been taken out." Say, if the label disclosed what was removed, you could have some guesstimate on the degree of processing that occurred. "You could make decisions on what you would consume based on that," he adds, which, oftentimes, might make you a bit more apprehensive with your processed purchases.

In terms of what gets removed during processing, fiber is of the most noteworthy nutrients to mention. Says Lustig, "Fiber is the primary food for [your] intestinal bacteria. The problem is, we've taken fiber out of food very specifically for shelf life." 

For example, when you eat a whole grain, it has a husk on the outside, while the starch lives on the inside. When you swallow that grain, your intestines have to "shear off all that fiber" before you can digest the starch. "[This] means that the absorption of that starch will be very delayed. And that's a good thing because that means that your glucose level doesn't go up so fast, and your insulin level stays low." 

But when you have processed grains—white breads, cereals, and the like—the refining process removes that outer coat from the starch, which lowers the fiber content and makes your body absorb it much faster (which can then lead to blood sugar spikes and crashes). In fact, one study on whole grains found that their benefits were diluted when heavily processed and stripped of their fiber. 

You likely know the issues with factory-farmed meat (here's a refresher, just in case). But according to Lustig, those animals actually have metabolic syndrome: When they're corn-fed, he says, "branched-chain amino acids are being turned into fat in the liver, which is driving their hyperinsulinemia, which is driving their growth." That's why he suggests purchasing grass-fed beef, which doesn't have as much fat marbled into the cuts of meat. 

As for chicken, free-range or pasture-raised is typically your best bet. Although, says Lustig, you may see some questionable ingredients on nutrition labels, even ones deemed "all-natural" or "organic."