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LABEL LOGIC: WATCHING FOR FAT, SALT, AND SUGAR

The foods you don't prepare from scratch, the ones you pick up for the sake of convenience or out of curiosity, or just because you like them - all the cereals, grains, breads, and pastas, the jams, and the prepared sauces and vegetables in the market - they all have invaluable nutrition information right on their labels. But because label reading takes some skill (there could be some hidden surprises in store), let's go over a few basic rules.
You may not be able to judge a food by its "cover" - a slick label can fool you at first glance. But you can judge it by reading its list of ingredients, and it won't take long for you to become a pro at picking out what's good for you and what isn't. The first thing to know about labels is that ingredients are always listed in decreasing order of weight: The first item listed is the largest amount by weight.
Fats
High-fat ingredients go by the following names: butter, egg yolk, shortening, margarine, mayonnaise, lard, tallow, suet, "schmaltz" (chicken or goose fat), hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening, vegetable oils (olive, canola, peanut, corn, safflower, soybean, coconut, and palm), monoglycerides, diglycerides, or triglycerides (the chemical name for oils and fats).
Hydrogenated fats (margarine is an example) start out as vegetable oils and are made solid by the addition of hydrogen. (Saturated fats, which are solid at room temperature, are saturated with hydrogen already in their natural state.) Animal fats, such as bacon fat, butter, and lard, are solid at room temperature and are composed mainly of saturated fatty acids. Vegetable oils, such as peanut, corn, and sunflower oils, are liquids at room temperature and consist primarily of polyunsaturated and/or monounsaturated fatty acids. Palm oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter (the fat in chocolate) are vegetable fats that in their natural state are already highly saturated, thus making them, like animal fats, the worst offenders. While vegetable fats and oils contain no cholesterol (animal fats, of course, do), some have a powerful ability to raise blood cholesterol levels and promote other serious illnesses as well when consumed in the amounts typical of most Western diets.
Sodium
Sodium will also crop up in a bewildering variety of forms; the most common, of course, is sodium chloride (NaCl), table salt. Other ingredients that contain sodium include sea salt, kelp, baking powder, baking soda, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium saccharin, sodium nitrate, and sodium propionate.
Seasonings and condiments that are best avoided because of their high sodium content include onion, garlic, and celery salt; most commercial ketchups, chili sauces, and barbecue sauces; and cooking wines (regular wine may be used for cooking). Do keep on the lookout for low-sodium versions of chili sauce, barbecue sauce, and "imitation" ketchup - they're all available. (Real ketchup must be 20 percent sugar by weight, according to its "product identity.") If you use prepared mustards or even tamari or sodium-reduced soy sauce, use small amounts, because they, too, are relatively salty. And as you would with canned beans that contain salt, be sure to rinse such canned foods as capers, artichoke hearts, and chili peppers in lots of water to get rid of as much excess salt as possible. Once you've adjusted to a lower-salt diet, all of these foods will taste better after a "bath"!
Sugar
We've already mentioned the suffix "-ose": It signals sugar, as in sucrose, lactose, glucose, fructose, and the like.
Ingredients to be aware of include high-fructose corn syrup (and all of the other "-oses"), corn or grape sugar, corn or grape sweetener, maple sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, barley malt, malted barley, rice syrup, raw sugar, sorghum, molasses, honey, sorbitol, and mannitol. Remember, for healthy individuals a little added sugar does not present the same health risks as added fats. Artificial sweeteners are best avoided - saccharin because animal studies have shown a link to cancer, and aspartame because its long-term effects simply aren't known yet. Artificial sweeteners may also increase your appetite for sweets.
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