Welcome to Week 1 of my Label Reading Crash Course! This 6-week series is designed to give you the essential foundation you need to confidently read food labels and make informed choices at the grocery store.
I’ve always wanted to create an online course on label reading, but a one-time, static course never felt like the right fit for such a dynamic and ever-evolving topic. Instead, this series will unfold week by week, walking you through each section of the Nutrition Facts table, using my unique, practical approach to evaluating food products.
Here’s what you can expect:
6-Week Label Reading Crash Course
Week 1 (this week, free to read):Calories – why it’s not the most important number
🔒 Week 2 (PAID):Fats – unsaturated vs. saturated, and which fat-based ingredients to prioritize
🔒 Week 3 (PAID):Sodium & Cholesterol – what those numbers really mean and how much you should look for
🔒 Week 4 (PAID):Carbohydrates & Fibre – how much you need, and which carb-based ingredients to prioritize
🔒 Week 5 (PAID):Sugar – natural vs. added, and how much is too much?
🔒 Week 6 (PAID):Protein – how much you actually need
Throughout this series, I’ll walk you through my method for reading both the Nutrition Facts table and the ingredient list, including what to pay attention to, what matters most, and when you don’t need to stress.
These six weeks will give you a strong foundation, and my typical weekly content will continue to build on it with deep dives into ingredients, aisle-by-aisle grocery guides, and evidence-based takes on trending food and nutrition topics.
This series is part of my usual newsletter, so as long as you’re on this email list, you’ll receive each week’s content.
This week’s topic on calories is free to read. But the remaining 5 weeks are available to paid subscribers only. If you’re interested in learning more about the rest of the nutrition facts table, consider upgrading your subscription with the button below.
In my clinical practice, I’ve worked with thousands of individuals to help them navigate food choices, and almost every time, the conversation eventually leads to comparing products and reading labels. One pattern I’ve noticed? Most people zero in on calories first. It makes sense: calories are listed right at the top of the Nutrition Facts table, in bold, larger font. Both Canadian and American labels are designed this way to catch your attention.
Note: Since we have both American and Canadian friends here, I’ve included examples from both food labels.
Calories are a unit of energy. They tell you how much energy a food provides per serving. But here’s what I want you to know: Calories are actually one of the least helpful pieces of information on the label.
There was a time when calorie counts dominated food marketing. Terms like “low-calorie,” “calorie-free,” and “100-calorie” were everywhere. Food manufacturers even adjusted serving sizes just to qualify for these claims. The emphasis on calories that persists today is a result of that era. But today, we understand so much more about nutrition, and we know that the quality of calories matters far more than the number alone.
The number of calories doesn’t tell you where that energy is coming from, how filling the food might be, or whether it’s offering anything else nutritionally. Today, I’ll show you why calories are just the tip of the iceberg, and why the rest of the Nutrition Facts table deserves your attention far more. By shifting your attention to what those numbers represent, you’ll gain a clearer picture of what’s actually in your food and feel more confident making choices that support your health.
Calories don’t tell you anything about the nutrients in your food.
When you focus on calories in isolation, you miss valuable insight into the quality of the food itself.
In the example below, two products with similar calorie counts are shown.
The KIND bar on the left has 170 caloriesfrom a mix of nutrients - 15 g of fat, 16 g of carbohydrates (including 7 g of fibre), and 6 g of protein. The candy, on the other hand, has 160 calories almost entirely from sugar. While the calorie counts are similar, the way these foods affect your body is very different.
The KIND bar is far more likely to keep you full and provide steady energy thanks to its balance of fat, fibre, and protein. This combination digests more slowly, supports steadier energy levels, and promotes greater satiety. It also delivers a broader range of nutrients that your body needs. The candy, lacking those nutrients, will digest quickly, leading to a spike in blood sugar followed by a crash in energy, and hunger soon after.
While calories are technically a measure of energy (and in theory, all calories are equal), where that energy comes from can have a significant impact on your eating experience and ultimately how your body digests, absorbs, and responds to the food.
The macronutrients behind the calories matter more.
You’ll notice in my product reviews that I never reference the calorie count. That’s because calories are actually an endpoint measurement. They tell you how much energy is in the portion of food listed on the Nutrition Facts table. But as we see above, what really matters is where that energy is coming from.
There are three macronutrients that contribute calories to a food: fat, carbohydrates, and protein (alcohol also contributes calories, but we’re just talking food today). So if a product contains 200 calories per serving, those calories are coming from one or more of these three macronutrients.
The Nutrition Facts tables below highlight these three nutrients. In the American version, the 120 calories in the crackers are from 3.5 g of fat, 20 g of carbohydrates, and 3 g of protein. In the Canadian label, the 130 calories are from 4.5 g of fat, 21 g of carbs, and 2 g of protein.
Each of these nutrients serves a different purpose in supporting our health and energy levels. As mentioned previously, these three nutrients are also digested differently and will have a significantly different impact on hunger and satiety.
Choosing a food based on the calorie count alone is like purchasing a home without looking inside. To get a better sense of the nutritional value, look further down the label at the macronutrient breakdown. This gives you a clearer picture of what you're actually eating. We won’t go into detail about macronutrients today, but we’ll discuss each one of these nutrients in detail in weeks to come.
Most people don’t know how many calories they need in a day.
Another reason calories can be misleading is that most people don’t actually know how many calories they consume (or need) on a daily basis. Without that context, the number of calories listed on a label doesn’t provide much useful information.
If you're unsure of your daily caloric needs, it’s hard to assess whether a food’s calorie content is high, low, or appropriate for your goals. Using calories alone to decide whether a food is “good” or “bad,” or to determine how much to eat, becomes impossible with an arbitrary number.
What’s more, relying on calorie counts can disconnect you from your internal cues around hunger and fullness. We’re all born with innate signals that help us know when to eat and when to stop. But when we assign ourselves a fixed calorie target, say, 200 calories for a snack, we may end up eating more or less than what our body actually needs at that moment.
Instead of focusing on calories, pay attention to how the food makes you feel. Consider the nutrients it provides and how satisfied you feel before and after eating. This approach supports a more responsive, intuitive way of eating, and a healthier relationship with food overall.
The calorie count might not be that accurate anyway.
Here’s something that often surprises people: food labels aren’t 100% accurate. In fact, the FDA and Health Canada allow up to a 20% margin of error for the calories (and all nutrients) listed on a Nutrition Facts table. That means a food labelled as having 200 calories could legally contain anywhere from 160 to 240 calories.
While this applies to all nutrients (not just calories), it tends to be most surprising to those who rely heavily on calorie counts to guide their daily intake.
While the allowed error is up to 20%, it doesn’t mean every label is off by that much. For instance, one study found that the actual calorie content of popular snack foods was, on average, just 4.3% higher than what was listed. Most foods were within 10% accuracy, but a few did underestimate calorie content by as much as 20%.
This margin of error usually isn’t a major concern—nutrient values are rarely exact. For example, two apples can differ in nutrient content based on variety and growing conditions. But it’s a good reminder that relying on calorie counts as the primary measure of a food’s value can be misleading.
Low-calorie often means low-nutrient.
When I was studying nutrition and starting my career, we were still deep in the “100-calorie” and “low-calorie” marketing era. While most brands have since moved on from these tactics, many of us still carry the lingering effects of that time - a time when we navigated grocery aisles with the belief that lower calorie counts automatically meant healthier choices.
This mindset continues to give low-calorie foods an undeserved health halo. But in reality, packaged foods that are low in calories are often low in nutrients, too.
Look at the example below of rice cakes. Each rice cake contains 35 calories, which may be appealing to someone who is looking for a low-calorie food item. But they’re also low nutrient - under a gram of fat per cake, 7 g of carbs, no fibre, and only 1 g of protein. This is unlikely to be a satiating option, and isn’t doing much to help you meet your daily nutrient needs.
Here’s another example below of 100-calorie Special K bars. Each bar contains the quintessential 100 calories from mostly starch. There is only 2 g of fat per bar, not even 1 g of protein, and no fibre.
Remember: food is a form of nourishment, and calories come from macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, and protein), all of which our bodies need daily. If a food is very low in calories, it’s probably low in those nutrients as well. That means a 100-calorie snack is likely not going to satisfy your hunger because it’s not giving you the actual nutrition your body needs.
When we focus too heavily on minimizing calorie intake, we can end up in a cycle of under-eating, feeling depleted or overly hungry, and (often) overcompensating later. It’s not about how little you can eat, it’s about fuelling your body with the nutrition it needs.
Bottomline:
Instead of zeroing in on the calorie count, shift your focus to what’s behind those calories - the macronutrients and other components listed further down the Nutrition Facts table. This approach will not only help you choose foods that add nutritional value to your meal or snack, but actually contribute to your overall nutrition and long-term health.
We’ll be looking into each of these nutrients in the coming weeks of the Label Reading Crash Course, so stay tuned!
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My colleague Leah at Build Up Dietitians has a weekly newsletter sharing nutrition news and hot topics. It’s one of my favourite weekly reads, you can check it out here.
“The Grocery Edit” is written by Brittany Raftis, MScFN, RD. She works as a Registered Dietitian and is passionate about helping people sort through the confusion of ingredients and nutrition facts to reduce stress surrounding daily food choices. She uses an evidence-based approach to clear up misinformation about nutrition and help people select the right products to support their health and enjoyment of food.
I'm happy to see when this kind of info is put out there, because focusing on calories is very misleading, especially for those starting out on their wellness journey.
Great article. I rarely look at calories I check carbs, fiber and sugars.
I'm happy to see when this kind of info is put out there, because focusing on calories is very misleading, especially for those starting out on their wellness journey.