DETROIT – Shopping for snacks for your Super Bowl party might mean a quick trip to the grocery store. If you're one to get in, get what you need, and get out you might want to take a bit more time to think about what you're buying.
"If they're only reading the front of the package, many times they're not," said dietician nutritionist, Ann Dunaway Teh. "Manufacturers are really good at picking up on those buzz words that consumers are concerned with. And they use those to catch our attention."
Dunaway Teh explains some of the common myths starting with bread labeling. It can be tricky!
"Although it might say wheat or multigrain, it doesn't mean it's a whole grain bread," said Teh.
You'll want to pick the loaf that says 100 percent instead. Then there's the term "light." it typically means less calories, sodium and or fat but be careful.
"Just because a label says light or reduced does not mean that that's license to eat more of that food," Teh added.
Then there's trans fats. Many products are free of this so called "bad" fat but not all of them. Just because it says zero, there can still be "some" trans fat in the product.
"By law, it can contain up to a half gram trans fat and still claim zero on the label per serving."
Keywords like "partially hydrogenated oil" on the ingredients list are items to stay away from. They're a major source of trans fats. While reading the back label might take a little longer in the grocery aisle it can save you from buying the wrong items.