{"id":2457,"date":"2025-03-15T05:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T05:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/understanding-common-nutrition-claims-and-their-meanings.html"},"modified":"2025-03-15T05:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T05:08:14","slug":"understanding-common-nutrition-claims-and-their-meanings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/understanding-common-nutrition-claims-and-their-meanings.html","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Common Nutrition Claims and Their Meanings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take a quick jaunt down any aisle in the grocery store, and you\u2019ll see all sorts of declarations and promises.<\/p>\n

But is the gluten-free, vegan cereal with high-fiber and no sugar added healthier than a similar one without those labels?<\/p>\n

Well, it depends.<\/p>\n

Health claims on food labels can be confusing and even feel deceiving \u2014 but they can also be helpful depending on what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

By checking out the front of a product\u00a0and\u00a0the back (where you can learn a lot more about a food from its\u00a0nutrition facts label), you can make more informed choices.<\/p>\n

Read on to learn what some of the most common nutrition claims mean \u2014 and how they can help you the next time you grocery shop.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Most Common Nutrition Claims, Defined<\/h2>\n

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulate many claims on food packaging, some foods feature claims like \u201cnatural,\u201d which\u00a0doesn\u2019t have a clear-cut definition or parameters.<\/p>\n

There are\u00a0three main categories of claims\u00a0that can appear on packaging, according to\u00a0Lacie Peterson, M.S., R.D.N., CDCES, a registered dietitian and nutrition instructor at Utah State University:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Nutrient content claims:\u00a0<\/strong>These address nutrients including (but not limited to) fiber, calories, cholesterol, sugar, sodium, and fat. This helps distinguish foods that are high or low in certain nutrients.<\/li>\n
  2. Health claims:<\/strong>\u00a0These cover a relationship between a food and health condition, such as heart disease.<\/li>\n
  3. Structure and function claims:<\/strong>\u00a0These describe a connection between a normal body function and a nutrient, such as \u201ccalcium builds strong bones.\u201d You\u2019ll see them on foods and dietary supplements.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While nutrition claims may lure you in and make you interested in a product, remember Peterson\u2019s advice:\u00a0\u201cThe marketing is on the front of the package and the facts are on the back.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s a quick guide to some common ones you\u2019ll encounter.<\/p>\n

    1. Low Calorie<\/h2>\n

    This means the food has fewer than 40 calories \u2014 per serving.<\/p>\n

    Size matters, too: \u201cThe food has a reference amount customarily consumed greater than 30 grams or greater than 2 tablespoons,\u201d Peterson says.<\/p>\n

    In other words, a food manufacturer can\u2019t claim a product is\u00a0low calorie\u00a0if the serving size is unreasonably small.<\/p>\n

    2. Cholesterol-Free<\/h2>\n

    The food must contain fewer than 2 milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIf a food is claiming to be low in cholesterol or cholesterol-free it does not mean the food is fat-free,\u201d Peterson says. \u201cVegetable oils are 100% fat but are also\u00a0cholesterol-free.\u201d<\/p>\n

    3. Vegan<\/h2>\n

    The food\u00a0does not contain any animal products.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhile an eating pattern that is more plant-based can be great for health, just because a food is vegan doesn\u2019t automatically mean that it\u2019s healthy,\u201d says\u00a0Danielle Gaffen, M.S., R.D.N., L.D.<\/p>\n

    Case in point: Oreos are vegan. Does that mean they\u2019re healthy? Nope.<\/p>\n

    \""100%<\/p>\n

    4. Gluten-Free<\/h2>\n

    The food contains\u00a0less than 20 parts per million\u00a0(ppm) or 20 milligrams of gluten per 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of food.<\/p>\n

    Gluten is the general name for the proteins found in wheat, rye, barley, and triticale, Peterson says.<\/p>\n

    You\u2019ll see this claim on many foods that typically contain gluten \u2014 such as gluten-free breads, crackers, cookies, and sauces \u2014 as well as foods that don\u2019t usually contain gluten, like applesauce.<\/p>\n

    5. Fat-Free<\/h2>\n

    The food must contain\u00a0less than 0.5 gram of fat\u00a0per serving.<\/p>\n

    \u201cMany fat-free products replace the fat with extra added sugars or sodium to try to improve the taste of the now fat-free product,\u201d Gaffen says.<\/p>\n

    6. Sugar-Free<\/h2>\n

    The food contains less than\u00a00.5 gram of sugar\u00a0per serving.<\/p>\n

    Gaffen says many sugar-free foods taste sweet because they include artificial sugars such as sorbitol, which can cause gastrointestinal distress (such as cramping and diarrhea) if you consume large quantities.<\/p>\n

    7. No Added Sugar<\/h2>\n

    No sugars were added\u00a0to the food during processing or production. \u201cThis includes ingredients that contain sugar, such as juice or dry fruit,\u201d Peterson says.<\/p>\n

    8. A Good Source of\u2026<\/h2>\n

    The food contains 10% to 19% of the daily recommended value of a specific nutrient.<\/p>\n

    9. An Excellent Source of\u2026<\/h2>\n

    The food contains\u00a020% or more of the DRV\u00a0of a specific nutrient.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThis claim can be helpful to pay attention to if you\u2019re trying to increase certain nutrients in your diet,\u201d Gaffen says.<\/p>\n

    10. High in\u2026<\/h2>\n

    The food contains at least 20% of the DRV of a specific nutrient. If a product has multiple foods, like a frozen dinner, the label must identify to which food the claim applies.<\/p>\n

    For instance, \u201cthe brown rice in this meal is\u00a0high in fiber.\u201d<\/p>\n

    11. Low Sodium<\/h2>\n

    The food contains 140 milligrams of sodium or less per serving. Very low-sodium foods contain 35 milligrams or less per serving, Peterson says.<\/p>\n

    Similar to the low-calorie claim, a food with \u201clow sodium\u201d on the label must have a large enough serving size (30 grams or more than 2 tablespoons).<\/p>\n

    12. Calorie-Free<\/h2>\n

    The food contains less than 5 calories per serving. The label must state if a food is naturally calorie-free (meaning it is\u00a0calorie-free\u00a0without any special processing).<\/p>\n

    Gaffen suggests you pay attention to the serving size because while the calories may still be minimal, several servings of a calorie-free food may not necessarily total zero calories.<\/p>\n

    13. Non-GMO<\/h2>\n

    The product is\u00a0not genetically modified, meaning the genetic make-up of the food has not been altered in a lab using genetic engineering or transgenic technology.<\/p>\n

    But not all genetic modification is bad.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhile everyone deserves to be informed of GMO versus not,\u201d Gaffen says, \u201cgenetically engineering a crop has been used to improve versions of existing ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

    For instance, a crop may require fewer pesticides if it is modified to be more resistant to pests.<\/p>\n

    14. Made with Organic Ingredients<\/h2>\n

    The food contains at least\u00a070% organically produced ingredients\u00a0(excluding salt and water).<\/p>\n

    \u201cThis product cannot use the\u00a0green organic seal,\u201d Peterson says.<\/p>\n

    15. Certified Organic<\/h2>\n

    The food contains a minimum of\u00a095% organic ingredients\u00a0(excluding salt and water). \u201cUp to 5% of the ingredients may be non-organic products that are not commercially available as organic,\u201d Peterson says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Take a quick jaunt down any aisle in the grocery store, and you\u2019ll see all sorts of declarations and promises. But is the gluten-free, vegan cereal with high-fiber and no sugar added healthier than a similar one without those labels? Well, it depends. Health claims on food labels can be confusing and even feel deceiving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}