Doing on weight training implies that you need to take in the right food. So they buy food items that have labels like non-fat or zero fat. But people doing muscle bodybuilding should be aware of some deceptive food labels. Health conscious shoppers are sometimes baffled by medical claims of some company like nutrition labels and ingredients lists that sometimes they would end up buying all the wrong food!

A study conducted by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that only 32% of the 200 respondents could correctly calculate the amount of carbohydrates in a 20 ounce bottle of soda with multiple servings. Many people are also confused by the nutrition label’s complexity or incorrectly interpret information listed in the percent daily value column or the 2000 calorie recommended daily allowance footnote. This low level of understanding results to most people misunderstanding the difference between multi-grain and whole-wheat flour in a loaf of bread or simply choosing a healthy frozen entrée.

Without fully grasping the meaning of food labels, you can be easily conned into buying a bottle of light juice. Buying a product with half the calories of the original might sound like a good idea, but you must also think about what are the things removed. The word light can translate into less sugar, more artificial sweeteners and 60% less juice. So if you really want to cut on your calorie intake, it would be better if you a buy a 100% juice and just cut your portion size and add a little water.

Companies can also mislead customers through the healthy glow labels. A product for example might claim to have crystal light immunity berry pomegranate that is essential to a healthy immune system because it contains vitamins A, C and E. But this claim might not be based on solid scientific evidence and to make only Food and Drug Administration approved claims. Disease prevention claims on food labels needs the approval from the Food and Drug Administration but before the product can hit the shelves, food companies don’t really need permission to make claims describing the role of a nutrient intended to affect bodily structure of function.

Other labels can also mislead consumers on the fiber content of the product or the low fat content of the product. Fiber is a heart healthy nutrient that lowers cholesterol. But a product may not necessarily provide these benefits if its fiber is derived from a source other than a whole grain, such as chicory root.

And a low fat food may sound healthy and might even be a wise choice. But a study conducted from Cornell University has shown that people tend to consume up to 50% more calories when they eat low fat snack foods, compared with eating the original. And many food labeled as low fat only have 30% fewer calories.

To avoid being deceived, you must first bypass the front label and go directly to the ingredients list. You must pay close attention to the first three ingredients since they are listed by order of descending weight. You must also keep an eye out for hard to pronounce ingredients, which are usually chemicals. And lastly, scan the nutrition facts label. This will tell you the specific amounts of nutrients you’ll be getting per serving.