What are You Focused On?

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When you make your grocery list and head out to the store, what are you focusing on? Is it the price of the food, the menu you created or the nutritional content of the items on your list? Perhaps it is all of the above. If nutrition isn’t on your radar, it’s time to take a closer look.

Did you know that many canned beans are high in sugar? How much sodium do you think a veggie burger contains? Does your milk have added nutrients? You don’t have to wonder about these things because most of your food items have the nutritional content printed right on the label.

Nutrition labels are the most valuable tool you can find in the grocery store. They are more important than coupons or sample tables and taking the time to read each one can make a huge impact on your family’s health. One of the first things that I always check on a nutrition label is the serving size. In North America we have been slowly increasing our serving sizes to an unreasonable amount. In some cases we could be eating two or three times the recommended portion size. I know that my teenage son’s cereal bowl is not ½ or ¾ of a cup like most cereal labels recommend. In the case of my son, it’s okay for him to start his day with a larger breakfast, but it is important that he understands what he is eating and exactly how much is considered acceptable. Is he tripling the portion size of a cereal that is high in sugar, or a cereal with a high fibre content? I certainly don’t want him heading to school full of empty calories, so we read the labels and make choices accordingly.

My sample cereal A suggests a serving size of ½ cup. In that half cup of cereal you are getting 2% of your daily recommended calcium and 30% of the daily recommended iron. Cereal B uses ¾ cup for a serving size and also has 2% of the daily recommended calcium. It has 35% of the daily recommended iron. Cereal A has 2 grams more sugar per serving than cereal B, even though the serving size is smaller. Given this information, I would choose cereal B. However, neither cereal contains a significant amount of vitamins and minerals, aside from iron.

Any percent daily value under 5% is considered a small amount, and 15% or more is a lot. It is a good idea to look for food items that have a high daily value of things that you want like fibre and calcium, and a lower daily value of unhealthy things like trans fats and sodium. As someone who follows a low sugar diet, I carefully review the amount of carbohydrates and fibre in all of my food.

You can learn more about nutritional labels and how to use them at Canada.ca/NutritionFacts, and while you are there be sure to take the quiz and get entered to win a $300 grocery card. You can also win a $100 Walmart gift card right here.

Comments

88 responses to “What are You Focused On?”

  1. nicky Avatar
    nicky

    I look at the sugar and salt amounts.

  2. Jeannie Lam Avatar
    Jeannie Lam

    I feel how much fat and sugar is important on a label.

  3. Anne-Marie Tvete Avatar
    Anne-Marie Tvete

    For me the sugar and carb count is the most important as I am trying to keep my blood sugars low

  4. Judy Cowan Avatar
    Judy Cowan

    For my family I look at fats, sodium and sugars when I look at the label.

  5. Francine Avatar
    Francine

    I need to watch my sodium, so that’s what is important to me!

  6. Elaine G Avatar
    Elaine G

    On the labels I look at the sugar and sodium content.

  7. NickyJ Avatar
    NickyJ

    sugar content is the most important for me.. there’s way too much sugar in almost everything

  8. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    I check serving size, calories, fat and sugar the most.

  9. Bailey Tulak Avatar
    Bailey Tulak

    I read the ingredients and try to avoid artificial stuff, too much sugar, too much salt… all the good stuff! I also check to see the ratio of fibre and protein to sugar and sodium.

  10. Irene Eichler Avatar
    Irene Eichler

    for me fat and sugar content is the most important !

  11. Soozle Avatar
    Soozle

    Calories and sugar are important to me

  12. Barbara Hall Avatar
    Barbara Hall

    Percent of daily requirements!

  13. Ming Avatar
    Ming

    The most important things are sugar and sodium

  14. Anne Taylor Avatar
    Anne Taylor

    All of it really but for us, sugar, salt, and fat are important

  15. Glogirl Avatar
    Glogirl

    I find that the most important information on food labels is the amount of sugar, fiber, fat and sodium in an item.

  16. Alayne Langford Avatar
    Alayne Langford

    Hey!! I look for sodium, sugar, fat and fibre and of course gluten and msg free, amongst other things ?

  17. Maria Avatar
    Maria

    Sodium , sugar and all the ingredients that I can’t even pronounce – cannot be good for my family

  18. Erinn Lishman Avatar
    Erinn Lishman

    I always look at sugar content on labels, so for me that is the most important!

  19. julia g Avatar
    julia g

    I look for fat and salt content.

  20. Andrea Avatar
    Andrea

    Amount of calories is important to me.

  21. Tamara M Avatar
    Tamara M

    I always pay particular attention to the amount of sugar listed on the label. Thank you very much for this chance! 🙂

  22. Tara Betterley Avatar
    Tara Betterley

    I look at calories, iron and sugar in my family. My son and I are both lacking iron.

  23. Tricia Hope Avatar
    Tricia Hope

    Since having high blood pressure,salt content for sure.

  24. Elizabeth Matthiesen Avatar
    Elizabeth Matthiesen

    For me it’s portion size, fats and salt that are most important.

  25. Jennifer P. Avatar
    Jennifer P.

    For me the most important is the ingredients list so I can check for additives/chemicals etc that I want to avoid. Then if the product passes that test, sugars, salts and fats are the most important for me.

  26. Julia H Avatar
    Julia H

    The biggest thing I look for is fake sugars, like aspartame, maltodextrin, etc. I avoid foods with those in it, at all costs. It can be frustrating, because things like maltodextrin are in so many things now. If it doesn’t have a fake sugar in it, I then check how much actual sugar it has in it, as I try not to eat too much of that (which is hard, because I have a huge sweet tooth!).

  27. Florence Cochrane Avatar
    Florence Cochrane

    The sugar, fat, sodium and fibre are all important to me and my family to try and maintain a healthy diet.

  28. Debbie White Beattie Avatar
    Debbie White Beattie

    The most important information is the sugar, sodium and calories

  29. Rhonda W G. Avatar
    Rhonda W G.

    I am lately really looking at sugar content. Calories per serving is also really something I check.

  30. wendy hutton Avatar
    wendy hutton

    for me I look at the sodium, calories and sugar content

  31. Amy Heffernan Avatar
    Amy Heffernan

    the fiber intake! Thanks!

  32. kathy downey Avatar
    kathy downey

    The most important information on food labels for my family is salt as we have a family member with restrictions

  33. Stephanie LaPlante Avatar
    Stephanie LaPlante

    The most important thing to watch for in my family is sodium levels. Heart problems run in my family.

  34. Carol Markusa Markusa Avatar
    Carol Markusa Markusa

    For me I look at the sodium and fat content.

  35. Shelby J Avatar
    Shelby J

    I read ingredients to see how many whole foods there are that actually add substance, nutrition and keep my full and how many ingredients are fillers or sugars added just to make it taste great.

  36. Sunshine G Avatar
    Sunshine G

    We pay attention to sugars.

  37. kristen visser Avatar
    kristen visser

    The most important thing for me to pay attention to is the carbs, sugar and sodium

  38. Stephanie Avatar
    Stephanie

    I think the amount of fat/saturated fat is very important to check on the label

  39. Lynda Cook Avatar
    Lynda Cook

    For me I find the Trans Fats and the sugars are important!!

  40. jan Avatar
    jan

    I am most interested in the actual ingredient list for certain items and the sodium content

  41. Jenness M Avatar
    Jenness M

    Sugar content is most important to me.

  42. Krista M Avatar
    Krista M

    Sugars and sodium amounts are extremely important in my household for the health of my children.

  43. Melinda Jana Avatar
    Melinda Jana

    for me it’s the sugar content

  44. Amy C Avatar
    Amy C

    I think that the percent daily value is very important.

  45. Jamie hall Avatar
    Jamie hall

    I think sugar and salt content

  46. Monique L.S. Avatar
    Monique L.S.

    For me, I always check out calories, sugar level and the first couple of ingredients.

  47. christine w Avatar
    christine w

    I check calories and sugars.

  48. Debbie F Avatar
    Debbie F

    I think that the calories is important to check.

  49. Maryanne Avatar
    Maryanne

    Sugar and sodium content!

  50. Cheryl MacPhail Avatar
    Cheryl MacPhail

    That is a hard question!! I guess I would have to say sodium.

  51. Karine Avatar
    Karine

    It’s hard to pick one thing because I look at everything on the nutritional label, but I try to aim for products containing a higher nutritional value of vitamins and iron

  52. maria Avatar
    maria

    I always look at fat, sugar, protein and iron.

  53. Erin W Avatar
    Erin W

    I think the sugar, carb and sodium are the ones I look at most!

  54. Jennifer L. Avatar
    Jennifer L.

    I look at sugar the most. I want as little sugar as possible.

  55. Diana Powell Avatar
    Diana Powell

    I never knew about the daily percent value !! Gonna check overtime now !!

  56. Kelly D Avatar
    Kelly D

    Right now the calorie counts are important to me.

  57. Angela September Avatar
    Angela September

    I think showing the sugars, sodium and trans fats per serving is SO important!

  58. Shane Smith Avatar
    Shane Smith

    honestly ALL of it! I love to show my kids the amount of sugar though, they are always shocked

  59. Shane Smith Avatar
    Shane Smith

    the amount of sugar and fat is super important, because they hide SO MUCH of it in everything these days!

  60. ivy pluchinsky Avatar
    ivy pluchinsky

    I look at the sodium and sugar intake! It is so important to read the labels before you buy things.

  61. Wendy Jensen Avatar
    Wendy Jensen

    For us we watch for the sodium especially and fats.

  62. Pam Avatar
    Pam

    for me the thing that I look for is how much sugar.

  63. lori butler Avatar
    lori butler

    for me it is the sugar content

  64. Jonnie Avatar
    Jonnie

    I think the serving size is very important because it affects everything else.

  65. Jenny Major Avatar
    Jenny Major

    I look at the sugar and salt amounts

  66. Jenn Avatar
    Jenn

    I always look at the how much calories, sugar, and fat the product has.

  67. Heidi C. Avatar
    Heidi C.

    I am always checking the amount of fat as well as the percentages that make up its total along with portion sizes, calorie count and amount of protein.

  68. 409cope Avatar
    409cope

    Personally I always check the carbs and protein on labels.

  69. Juliee Fitze Avatar
    Juliee Fitze

    I read to see how much sugar there is in everything.

  70. Gillian Morgan Avatar
    Gillian Morgan

    For me I always looks at sugar and sodium content.

  71. SweetPanda Avatar
    SweetPanda

    For my family, it is very important for me to monitor the sodium and sugar in food

  72. Kim C-S Avatar
    Kim C-S

    I would like to see added or free sugar on the label rather than total sugar which includes the natural sugars from milk and fruit.

  73. Karla Sceviour Avatar
    Karla Sceviour

    I like to know how much salt and sugar is in products.

  74. Marlene J Avatar
    Marlene J

    serving size & total fat

  75. Andrea Amy Avatar
    Andrea Amy

    salt, sugar and fat content

  76. Dianne G. Avatar
    Dianne G.

    To me the calories, sodium, and sugar content are the things I look at the most.

  77. Dayna Wilson Avatar
    Dayna Wilson

    Sugar and sodium are most important to me.

  78. Heidi P Avatar
    Heidi P

    Sugar & Fat content is #1 on the ingredient list.

  79. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    I feel that understanding the sugar and salt content on the nutrition facts table is the most important. This is especially true if you have children.

  80. Tava Avatar
    Tava

    Portion size all of the other numbers mean nothing without context!

  81. Michelle Koller Avatar
    Michelle Koller

    for me fat, salt and sugar content

  82. Debbie S. Avatar
    Debbie S.

    I think fats, sugars and sodiums are very important and per serving size.

  83. Carol Denny Avatar
    Carol Denny

    The sugar and salt content is important

  84. Jen L Avatar
    Jen L

    I think it is important to pay attention to the serving size, i.e.. I watch carefully for sodium and a serving of chips may look low in sodium, until you realize they are only counting 12 chips (or something way smaller than you plan on eating 😉

  85. lynn clayton Avatar
    lynn clayton

    SUGAR AND FAT CONTENT IS SOMETHING I LOOK FOR

  86. tammy ta Avatar
    tammy ta

    I know that I usually check the sugar and the sodium so I guess these are important to me.

  87. Melissa Black Avatar
    Melissa Black

    info on food labels is ingredients and if they are organic or gmo

  88. Sara rai Avatar
    Sara rai

    I check for sodium and sugar content.

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