How To Read a Nutrition Label

If you’ve ever been to the grocery store and spent a little more time than you wanted to, staring at the nutrition label and ingredients list on a food product like it was a foreign language you couldn’t understand, you aren’t alone. Many United States school systems have lacked basic nutrition education, or people simply forget how to do it over time.

If you live with diabetes and want to learn how to read a nutrition (food) label to understand why serving sizes matter, how nutrition affects insulin dosing decisions and potential red flags to watch for, this guide is for you!

What to look for on your nutrition labels

If you would like to maintain or improve your health, knowing how to read a nutrition label matters. And it’s not just important for people with diabetes (PWD). However, PWD may especially benefit from knowing how to.

When you’re looking at a nutrition label, pay special attention to:

• Serving sizes: This information is at the top of the label. When you look at the serving size, check how many servings are in the container. This shows how many calories, fat, carbs and other nutrients you will eat. The serving size is what all the other components of the label are based on. When choosing a food or making a recipe, think about how much of each nutrient you get in one serving. It’s also important to look at the serving size because what seems like a normal amount for you might be more than what’s listed. Knowing this can help prevent overeating and fine-tune your insulin dosing. For example, if you thought you were eating one serving but were actually eating more, this could explain some wild blood sugar swings.
• Ingredients list: Pay attention to the order of ingredients on the label. They are listed from most to least by weight. The first ingredients are the heaviest and make up most of the product. For example, in balsamic vinaigrette, the first two ingredients are probably balsamic vinegar and oil, meaning these are the main parts. This order can also help you find hidden sugars and salts. For instance, if a bottle of cranberry juice lists natural cranberry juice and water first, but high fructose corn syrup third, it means the juice has a lot of sugar.
• Percentage of daily value (%DV): This small symbol on food labels is important. It shows how much of a key nutrient fits into a 2,000-calorie daily diet. Basically, the percentage of daily value (%DV) tells you how much that nutrient contributes to your total daily intake. For example, one serving of ketchup might contain 20% of the recommended daily amount of sodium.
• Food claims: Just because a product says it’s fat-free, sugar-free or low-sodium doesn’t mean it has no calories or is automatically healthy. These foods might have empty calories or ingredients that are worse for you. Sometimes, a little natural sugar is better than a lot of artificial sweeteners. If a product reduces certain nutrients, check what else has increased—like calories or carbs. You might also miss out on important nutrients found in less-processed foods. If a label says it’s low-fat, ask whether it has more sugar than the regular version. The same goes for sodium and cholesterol. This is useful because the regular version could actually be healthier for you. But “sugar-free” still contains carbohydrates, so always double check the label for that.

Want to improve your health? Consume less of these

Eating in a “diabetes-friendly” way is really just eating well, and everyone can benefit, not just PWD. People with type 1 diabetes (T1D) pay just as much attention to what they eat as people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), even though nutrition needs and advice look different from person to person. 

If anything, PWD often have an edge here—they’re paying close attention to how food affects their body at the moment, while a lot of people without diabetes don’t think about it until something catches up with them down the road. The truth is, everyone’s body benefits from nourishing food. It just shows up more immediately for PWD. 

If you’d like to improve how you eat, try to consume foods that are lower in:

• Sodium (1500mg or less per day)
• Saturated (less than 10% of daily calories) and trans fats

When checking the fat in a product, it’s important to see what type of fat it has. Choose products that contain more monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats and fewer that have trans or saturated fats. Saturated fats, found in animal products, can raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke by making blood more likely to clot. Trans fats also raise LDL cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol.

Be careful with how much salt you eat, because having too much can lead to high blood pressure. The American Heart Association (AHA) says most adults should eat no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium each day. Canned foods, salad dressings and other packaged foods usually have a lot of salt. Choose frozen or fresh vegetables instead. Making your own salad dressings and sauces at home is also a good idea, so you can control how much salt you add.

Fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein: what’s good for you?

If you want to improve your health, consider including more of these nutrients in your day-to-day eating.

Ideally, your daily nutrient intake should include a mix of:

• Fiber
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Protein
• Fat
• Carbohydrates

Foods high in fiber keep you fuller for longer and help manage cholesterol and blood sugar—fibrous foods include:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Barley
• Brown rice
• Other whole-grain foods

You’ll also find that some of these foods will provide the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs, such as:

• Vitamin D
• Potassium
• Iron
• Calcium

Protein deserves a mention here too, especially since it’s having a moment on social media right now, with everyone from fitness influencers to your group chat pushing high-protein everything. It does matter!

Protein:

• Keeps you full
• Supports muscle
• Helps stabilize blood sugar when you pair it with carbs

But more isn’t automatically better! Your body can only use so much protein at once, and if you’re loading up on protein bars and shakes at the expense of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, you’re likely missing out on the fiber and micronutrients those foods provide instead.

For what it’s worth: eating poorly doesn’t directly cause any form of diabetes

For what it’s worth, you should also know that eating poorly doesn’t directly cause any type of diabetes. Diet can be a risk factor for T2D, but it’s not the sole cause, and no amount of “bad” eating causes type 1 diabetes T1D.

Regardless of cause, no one should be shamed or blamed for having any type of diabetes. It does not motivate or support positive outcomes.

Here’s what actually causes the three most common types of diabetes:

What causes T1D?

• An autoimmune response: where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas
  
• Genetic predisposition: though most people diagnosed have no family history of T1D
  
• Possible environmental triggers (like certain viruses): that researchers believe may set off the autoimmune response in people who are already genetically predisposed

T1D is not caused by diet, sugar intake or lifestyle, and it can’t be prevented. But, with current screening options, it can now be detected earlier—before symptoms even appear! That matters.

What causes T2D?

• Insulin resistance: where the body’s cells stop responding to insulin effectively, combined with the pancreas not producing enough insulin to keep up
• Genetics and family history: which play a significant role in risk
• Age: since risk increases as you get older
  

Other risk factors include:

• Physical activity level
• Weight
• Certain health conditions that can contribute alongside genetics, but don’t act alone

What causes gestational diabetes?

• Hormonal changes: during pregnancy that make it harder for the body to use insulin effectively

Gestational diabetes usually resolves after delivery, though it does raise the risk of developing T2D later in life.

The bottom line is that genetics and biology are doing most of the driving. Eating well supports your overall health and can help manage T2D risk factors, but it’s not a moral report card, and it’s definitely not why anyone develops T1D.

What’s best for you in life with diabetes?

The truth is, no single nutrient does all the work. Fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein, carbohydrates and fats, each play a different role. Leaning too hard into one usually means shortchanging another. The ideal mix looks different for everyone depending on your activity level, goals and how your body responds to different foods. 

That’s a great conversation to have with your healthcare provider, a registered dietitian (RD) or even a gym coach who knows your specific needs. Any of these professionals should be able to help you land on a macronutrient balance that actually works for you instead of guessing based on whatever’s trending lately.

Understanding food labels matters when making dietary decisions, whether your goal is weight loss, gain or management or managing a chronic illness like diabetes! This is a major step toward making informed dietary decisions, which can lead to better insulin dosing if you’re using it to manage diabetes. 

Eating well with diabetes doesn’t have to be hard—a little information can make a big difference in your diet and reduce the risk of obesity and other health problems.

Food is just one part of managing diabetes effectively. If you’re ready to go beyond your diagnosis and dive deeper into community insights and simple science that makes diabetes easier, download our Beyond Diagnosis guides today.