How to Read Food Labels: Which Health Claims Can You Trust?
Walk through a supermarket and almost every packet has something to say about your health.
High protein. Source of fibre. No added sugar. Natural goodness. Plant-based. Gut-friendly. Immune support.
Some of these phrases have precise legal meanings. Others tell you very little about the nutritional quality of the product. Even a claim that is completely true can draw your attention towards one positive feature while distracting you from everything else in the packet.
Learning to read a food label is not about finding reasons to fear food. It is about understanding what you are buying and deciding whether it meets your individual needs.
The front of the packet is designed to sell the product
The front is where manufacturers place the information they most want you to notice. This might include attractive imagery, colours associated with health, words such as “wholesome” or one carefully selected nutritional benefit.
The information you need to assess the product is usually on the back:
the ingredients list;
the nutrition information;
the percentage of prominently featured ingredients;
the allergen information; and
the exact wording of any nutrition or health claim.
In the UK, there is an important difference between a nutrition claim and a health claim.
Nutrition claims have defined conditions
A nutrition claim describes what a food contains, does not contain or contains in a higher or lower amount. Examples include “high fibre”, “low sugar”, “source of protein” and “reduced salt”.
These are not simply creative marketing phrases. To use them in Great Britain, a product must meet the conditions attached to that claim in the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register.
Here are a few examples:
Claim Vs What it legally means
Source of fibre - The food contains at least 3g of fibre per 100g, or at least 1.5g per 100 kcal.
High fibre - The food contains at least 6g of fibre per 100g, or at least 3g per 100 kcal.
Source of protein - At least 12% of the food’s energy value comes from protein.
High protein - At least 20% of the food’s energy value comes from protein.
Low sugar - No more than 5g of sugars per 100g for solids, or 2.5g per 100ml for liquids.
Sugar-free - No more than 0.5g of sugars per 100g or 100ml.
No added sugar - No sugars or ingredients used for their sweetening properties have been added. The product may still contain naturally occurring sugars.
That makes these claims useful pieces of information, but only pieces.
A cereal can meet the threshold for “high fibre” while also containing more sugar than you would personally want from an everyday breakfast. A bar can qualify as “high protein” and still contain a long list of ingredients that does not suit your digestion. “No added sugar” does not mean sugar-free, low-carbohydrate or automatically appropriate for everyone.
The claim tells you that one specific legal condition has been met. It does not certify the product as healthy overall.
Health claims must be authorised
A health claim links a food, nutrient or ingredient to a function or health outcome.
For example:
Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
This is an authorised health claim. It has been assessed and included in the official register, and the product must meet the relevant conditions before the claim can be used.
This is different from a company inventing a new promise such as “this drink will stop you getting ill”. Food products cannot claim to treat, prevent or cure a disease or medical condition.
There is another important distinction here: the authorised evidence often relates to a particular nutrient, not to the product as a whole.
A sweetened drink fortified with vitamin C may be able to make an authorised vitamin C claim. That does not tell you whether the drink is the best source of vitamin C for you, whether it is nutrient-dense overall or how it compares with other options.
What about “healthy”, “superfood” and “gut-friendly”?
General phrases such as “healthy”, “good for you” and “superfood” do not give you a measurable amount of anything. Under UK guidance, general non-specific health claims should be accompanied by a relevant authorised health claim.
Terms that imply a bodily effect, including “detox” and “probiotic”, can also fall within health-claims rules. A phrase such as “gut-friendly” deserves the same scrutiny: what, exactly, is being claimed, which ingredient is responsible and is there a specific authorised claim alongside it?
Other common phrases may describe a characteristic without telling you much about nutrition:
Plant-based tells you that the product is based on plant ingredients, not that it is automatically high in protein, fibre or micronutrients.
Made with real fruit confirms the presence of fruit, but the percentage may be much smaller than the pictures suggest. Check the ingredients list for the amount.
Wholesome, feel-good and packed with goodness create an impression rather than giving you precise nutritional information.
Artisan or farmhouse may describe branding or production style, not the food’s effect on your health.
You do not have to assume that these statements are dishonest. You simply should not use them as your main reason for choosing the product.
My simple process for reading a food label
1. Temporarily ignore the front
Turn the packet over before you decide what you think of it. You can return to the claims later and check whether the rest of the label supports the impression they created.
2. Read the ingredients in order
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the first few ingredients make up the largest proportion of the product.
Ask:
What is this food mainly made from?
Can I identify a meaningful source of protein, fibre or nourishing fat?
Is sugar, syrup or another sweetening ingredient near the beginning?
Does it contain anything I know does not agree with me?
A long ingredients list does not automatically make a food “bad”, and an unfamiliar name is not evidence that an ingredient is harmful. The list is useful because it tells you what the product actually is.
Sugar is not always listed simply as “sugar”. Many common forms have names ending in “-ose”, including glucose, fructose, dextrose, maltose and sucrose. Rest assured: these are all still sugar.
A product may also contain several different sweetening ingredients. Listing each one separately can make sugar appear less prominent than it would if they were grouped together as a single ingredient.
Not every sweetener ends in “-ose”, either. Honey, molasses, malt extract, syrups and fruit-juice concentrates can all be used to sweeten a product. Look at the ingredients collectively rather than searching for the word “sugar” alone.
3. Check the percentage of the celebrated ingredient
If an ingredient is mentioned in the product’s name or highlighted with words or pictures, its percentage will often be shown.
A product may feature berries across the front of the packet while containing a very small amount of berry. “Made with real fruit” becomes far more informative when you know whether fruit makes up 2% or 50% of the product.
4. Compare products per 100g or 100ml
Manufacturers choose their own serving sizes, which can make similar products difficult to compare. The per-100g or per-100ml column gives you a consistent starting point.
Depending on what you are buying, look at:
protein;
fibre;
sugars;
saturated fat; and
salt.
The most important figure will vary. Protein might matter most when choosing a filling breakfast. Fibre may be a priority for one person and something that needs increasing carefully for another person experiencing active digestive symptoms.
5. Put the numbers into context
The “of which sugars” figure includes naturally occurring sugars as well as added sugars. Plain milk and yoghurt contain lactose. Whole fruit contains naturally occurring sugars. The number alone does not reveal the source.
Likewise, fat content tells you nothing about the type or quality of the fat unless you also look at the ingredients. Low fat is not automatically better, and a higher-fat food is not automatically less nourishing.
6. Ask whether it works for you
There is no single perfect product for every person.
Someone with a limited appetite may need a different option from someone trying to build a more filling lunch. A person with active inflammatory bowel disease may tolerate certain forms of fibre differently from someone whose main concern is constipation. Allergies, intolerances, medications, blood-sugar regulation and overall dietary pattern all change the context.
The aim is not to identify whether a food is universally “good” or “bad”. The useful question is:
What does this product provide, and does that meet my needs?
A claim can be true without telling the whole truth
Imagine a snack bar described as:
Plant-based. Made with real fruit. Source of fibre.
“Source of fibre” has a defined threshold, so that part provides real information. “Plant-based” and “made with real fruit” may also be factually accurate.
You still need the back of the packet to learn:
how much fruit it contains;
whether dates, juice concentrates or syrups make up much of the product;
how much protein and fibre it provides in a realistic portion;
whether it will satisfy you; and
whether the ingredients work for your digestion.
The front has not necessarily lied to you. It has simply told you the part of the truth most likely to make you buy it.
Food labels should inform you, not frighten you
You do not need to inspect every packet as though it is trying to harm you. Nor does every convenience food need to meet an impossible standard of nutritional perfection.
Food labels are tools. Once you understand what the words mean, they can help you choose foods that support your digestion, energy and wider health without relying on marketing promises.
If you are struggling with gut or autoimmune symptoms, the harder question is often not whether a product is “healthy”. It is whether it provides what your body needs and fits into a way of eating that you can genuinely sustain.
That is the work I do with my clients. We look beyond generic rules to identify nutritional gaps, possible contributors to symptoms and realistic changes that support the whole person.
If you would like help understanding how to nourish your body while managing digestive or autoimmune symptoms, you can book a free 45-minute discovery call with me.
Official sources
This article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for personalised medical or nutritional advice.