How to read and understand food labels when managing diabetes

Controlling your diabetes requires careful attention when reading food labels. Since nutritional labeling is not easy to decode at the best of times [1], how do you go about understanding the information on packaging when you have diabetes?

Avoid misinterpretation by following these tips, which will give you valuable guidance in choosing the food products most suited to your condition.

Is nutrition labelling the same in all countries?

Nutrition labeling now has a standardized format adopted by international consensus. The Codex Alimentarius drafted by WHO (World Health Organization) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) regulates the mandatory information to be displayed on food items. 

Food packaging specifies:

• the list of ingredients, in decreasing order of weight proportion (highest to lowest)
• allergens
• additives [2]

The label of a food product must also state:

• the amount of energy per 100 g or ml or contained in a recommended portion of the food, expressed in kilocalories and kilojoules;
• the number of grams of protein, carbohydrate, and fat per 100 g or ml of the food or contained in a recommended portion of the food [2].

Labeling can be readable, but difficult to understand

Because a well balanced diet is a vital part of the therapeutic strategy to maintain control of diabetes and directly contributes to the stability of blood sugar [3], it is important to go beyond the nutritional claims indicated on the packaging and take the time to fully understand food labels [1].

For example, it is necessary to understand the difference between simple and complex sugars [2,4,5], as their effect on how blood glucose levels increase is not the same:

• Simple, or “fast”, sugars have a high glycemic index and will therefore be rapidly digested, causing hyperglycemia [4,5].
• Complex, or “slow” sugars, with a lower glycemic index, will cause smaller increases [1,4,5].

When you choose foods rich in sugars, it is also better to combine them with foods with high fiber content, which have the ability to slow the absorption of these sugars and therefore lower your blood sugar peak. Likewise, try to choose whole grain starchy foods as they are high in fiber too [1,4,5].

Beware of hidden sugars and misleading information

Decoding food labels properly also means knowing how to spot sugars that we would not suspect are in the composition of certain dishes [1,3,6]. For example, some food products labeled as being “light” often contain more sugar than their equivalents even if their fat content is indeed lower [1,6].

Sugar levels, when expressed as a percentage, can also be misleading as their values vary depending on whether they relate to total weight or total volume. 

This is the case for ice creams, for example, their volume being generally lower than their weight, an equivalent amount of sugar will be expressed as a different percentage on the packaging. 

Instead, refer to the grammage, which remains fixed, to help you choose the product with the lowest sugar content [4,6].