How to read a nutrition label for dummies?

One question per line, and the thresholds that answer it without any arithmetic

The simplest way to read a nutrition label is to ask one question of each line, is this a lot, and to have the answer ready, because the UK's front-of-pack scheme publishes the thresholds that decide it and they can be memorised in a minute. Find the per-100g column, the one that compares foods, ignore the per-portion column until later, and run the four limit lines against the thresholds. Sugars: high is more than 22.5g per 100g, low is 5g or under, and anything between is medium, so a cereal at 25g of sugars per 100g is a sweet, a yoghurt at 4g is not, and the question is answered by one number. Saturates: high is more than 5g per 100g, low is 1.5g or under, the saturated line under total fat being the one that matters and total fat being read second. Fat: high is more than 17.5g per 100g, low is 3g or under, with the note that fat is not a villain and the saturates line tells more, nuts and oily fish reading high on fat and being fine. Salt: high is more than 1.5g per 100g, low is 0.3g or under, processed and ready foods being where the number surprises. Four lines, four thresholds, red, amber or green in the mind without any calculation, and the same thresholds are what colour the traffic lights on the front of the pack, per portion, so a reader who knows them can check the front's colours against the back's per-100g figures and notice when a small chosen portion has turned a red food amber.

The lines that are not about limiting, the ingredients in one glance, and the supplement label read the same way

Two lines are not about limiting and get a different question. Energy, in kilocalories, gets the question does this fit my day, answered against the reader's own intake rather than a threshold, the 2000 kilocalorie reference being an average adult's and not a lifter's or a dieter's. Protein, per 100g, gets the lifter's question, does this help me reach my target, a daily intake around 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight being met from foods whose protein per 100g is high, meat, fish, eggs, dairy, pulses, and the line revealing that many foods sold as high-protein snacks read modestly once the per-100g figure is found, the high protein claim itself meaning that at least 20% of the food's energy comes from protein and being a claim with a condition rather than a description. The ingredients in one glance: the first ingredient is most of the food, sugar appearing first or second makes it a sugary product whatever the front says, and the allergens are in bold for anyone who needs them, which is the whole of the list for a first read. The supplement label is read the same way with different questions: the basis is per recommended daily dose rather than per 100g, the one question is does this deliver a meaningful amount, answered by the %NRV column, 80% on the worked example meaning most of a day's reference amount in two capsules and 5% meaning a token, and the ingredients in one glance show whether the capsule is the nutrient, a shell and little else or a proprietary blend hiding its proportions, so that a reader who can ask is this a lot of a food label can ask is this enough of a supplement label and read the whole aisle with two questions.

The verdict, four thresholds and two questions

How to read a nutrition label the simplest way: find per 100g, ask is this a lot of each limit line and answer it with the UK thresholds, sugars over 22.5g, saturates over 5g, fat over 17.5g and salt over 1.5g being high, ask does this fit my day of energy and does this reach my target of protein, glance at the first ingredient and the bold allergens, and then carry the habit to a supplement label, where the question becomes is this enough and the %NRV column answers it. The one-line supplement label: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate, two capsules, 300mg magnesium at 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p a day, most of a day's reference amount in one row.

What to check on the label

Questions people also ask

What counts as high sugar on a UK food label?

More than 22.5g of sugars per 100g is high and 5g or under is low, the front-of-pack scheme's thresholds, so a cereal at 25g per 100g is a sweet and a plain yoghurt at 4g is not.

What counts as high salt?

More than 1.5g of salt per 100g is high and 0.3g or under is low, processed and ready foods being where the number most often surprises.

Is high fat always bad on a label?

No: fat over 17.5g per 100g is the high threshold, but nuts and oily fish read high and are fine, and the saturates line, high above 5g per 100g, tells more than total fat.

What is the one line a lifter should read?

Protein per 100g, against a daily target of around 1.6 grams per kilogram, with the note that high protein on the front means only that 20% of the food's energy comes from protein.

How do I read a supplement label the same simple way?

Change the question from is this a lot to is this enough: the %NRV column per daily dose answers it, 80% being most of a day's reference amount and 5% a token, and the first ingredient shows whether the capsule is the nutrient or a blend.

Sources

1. The UK front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme: voluntary colour-coded labels for fat, saturates, sugars and salt per portion, with the mandatory per-100g declaration remaining the comparison basis. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/front-of-pack-nutrition-labelling-guidance
2. The retained Food Information to Consumers regulation: the mandatory nutrition declaration for foods, its fixed order of energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt per 100g, and its rules on portion information, with supplements declaring nutrients per daily dose against nutrient reference values. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1169/contents
3. The nutrition claims conditions: source of protein requires at least 12% of the energy value from protein and high protein at least 20%, the thresholds a protein powder must meet to carry the claims. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2006/1924/annex
4. The protein intake and resistance training literature: meta-analyses support intakes around 1.6g per kilogram of body weight daily for maximising resistance-training gains, with diminishing returns above. PubMed record

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