Nutrition facts on labels aren’t always clear. In fact, they can be downright confusing. Ever wonder exactly what "light" or "fortified" on the front of a box of cereal really means? Or found yourself having to do math in the grocery aisle to decipher how many calories per serving are in that bottle of salad dressing you’d like to try?

You aren’t alone.

It might seem easy just to pick up a can, box or bottle and simply find a clear list of nutrition facts. But label reading is a bit more complicated than that. However, you can learn to cut through the hype and the sometimes tricky wording on labels in order to make smarter, healthier nutrition choices.

Tips for reading labels

The information you need is on most packages – the key is to know what exactly you’re looking for and where to find it, according to nutrition expert Lindsay Baker, RD, LD.

"Food labels can help everyone make healthier food choices and are especially helpful for those with chronic diseases who need to watch their intake of certain nutrients (carbs, fats, protein, sodium and cholesterol). However, many products use words like ‘low fat’, ‘healthy’ and ‘no cholesterol’ and consumers think these products are good options strictly because of these claims," Baker, an outpatient oncology dietitian for the Georgia Health Sciences Cancer Center in Augusta tells Synergy.

"But you need to turn the box or bag around and read the label to get all the facts. Then you may find out a product is loaded with sodium, for example, which isn’t a good option."

She adds that it’s important to pay attention to the serving size listed on the food package to get a true picture of how many calories you’re consuming. "All of the nutrition facts on the label are based on the serving size listed. So if a packaged food has a serving size of 1 cup and contains 2 servings -- and you eat the whole thing -- you have to double everything on that label, including the calories, to see what you really ate," Lindsay explains.

A case in point: canned soup. One can looks pretty small and many of us consider it one serving. But look closer you’ll find the label info is probably based on 2 or even 2 and half small servings per can. So if you have hypertension and are watching sodium intake, you might decide to buy a can of veggie soup because the label says it only has 480 mg of sodium. But that’s the sodium in only one serving. Eat the entire can full and you’re getting a whopping dose of between 960 mg and 1200 mg of sodium in one meal.

Baker’s advice? "Pay attention to serving sizes and don’t ‘eyeball’ portions. Get out your measuring cups so you aren’t eating double or triple the calories and nutrients listed on the label."

Figuring out the nutrition info that’s right for you

Obviously, people come in all sizes and have varying activity levels, so there’s no one-exact-portion-fits-all for everybody. How can you use labels to figure out what a normal serving is for you, specifically?

"The bottom of the nutrition label lists recommended total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium intake a day based on calorie levels, so people should be using that as a guide. However, they should note it’s based on 2,000 calories a day and not everyone needs that many calories," Baker answers. "If you are a woman, you probably need fewer calories than men, for example, and the amount you need per day depends on whether you are trying to maintain, gain, or lose weight, too. If you need fewer calories, you especially need less fat."

She adds that everyone should keep their total fat at 5 grams or less per serving. When it comes to saturated fat (found in animal products like dairy and meat, it can raise artery-clogging cholesterol), aim for less than 3 grams a serving. Too much salt in the diet isn’t healthy for most people, so try to stick to under 300 mg of sodium per serving. Be aware that pre-packaged meals that come frozen tend to be loaded with up to 600 mg of sodium -- so Baker advises eating no more than one frozen meal a day.

Reading labels can help you find products with adequate fiber which can lower cholesterol, keep weight in check and may reduce the risk of gastrointestinal problems. "Try to get 25 to 30 grams per day of fiber in your diet. Looking for a food serving that contains 5 grams per serving is a good goal," Baker tells Synergy.

The ingredients list

In addition to the label listing of nutrients and calories, you’ll also find another ingredients list. It’s a kind of "recipe" that shows what the product is made of and, according to registered dietician and certified wellness coach Julie Schwartz, MS, the fewer number of ingredients, the fewer chemicals and other additives and the better the "recipe."

"Of course, that doesn’t mean all packaged foods are ‘evil’ because of additives," Schwartz, who is the owner of Nutriwell Coaching, tells Synergy. "Some of the chemicals enable the food to stay safe to eat. Some are added to maintain texture or enhance flavors. However, in general, when you aim for a smaller number of ingredients , you’ll be making more wholesome overall choices."

One key ingredient to watch for is the source of sweeteners. For example, the grams of sugar on the nutrition facts panel include all sugars from all sources. By checking the ingredients list you can see specifically what those sources are. Schwartz advises avoiding products with a lot of sweeteners that end in ‘ose’ . Sucrose means plain white table sugar but the most worrisome type sugar is high fructose corn syrup. Several studies, including one by Princeton scientists, have recently linked this sweetener to weight gain. It may up the risk of type 2 diabetes, too.

Another ingredient to avoid is trans fat. The reason? Made by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation in order to keep oil from spoiling, trans fat (also called trans-fatty acids) is now considered by health experts to be a risk to heart health. It raises your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and lowers your "good" (HDL) cholesterol.

Even if the nutrient label says the product has zero trans fats, that may not be technically true. "If you see ‘partially hydrogenated’ on the ingredient list, that indicates some trans fats are in the product even if the facts panel lists zero," Schwartz explains.

The majority of fat you do consume should be ‘healthy’ fats. Baker advises looking for products that list polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oils as ingredients.

One way to cut down on a lot label reading is simply to eat less pre-packaged foods. "For the most part, fresh is best," Schwartz says. "However, there are always exceptions. Fruits and vegetables that are frozen are sometimes even ‘fresher’ than fresh because of when the food is harvested. And in the case of fruits and vegetables, eating them canned is much better than eating none."