'Free' On The Label Doesn't Always Mean 'Free'

If you, while grocery shopping, tend to reach for products labeled "fat-free," or "sugar-free," this may explain why it still seems hard to shed those unwanted pounds.

When a product is claimed to be "free" of a particular ingredient, it doesn't actually mean there is none of the ingredient in the product. The only way to be really sure is to carefully read the label.

When free doesn’t really mean free

"The manufacturer can label a food fat-free or sugar-free if it has less than one-half gram per serving," said Karen Brewton, R.D., L.D., with The Methodist Hospital in Houston. "It can meet the criteria for "free" as the portion listed on the label, but if your portion is much larger, you may be consuming significant amounts of fat or sugar and therefore more calories."

For example, a small bag of chips might actually be two servings. If you eat the entire bag, you've consumed two portions. If the chips were labeled "fat-free," you would have consumed a gram of fat.

Grams, especially when they aren't being counted, do in fact add up.

Hard to avoid carbs

"Sugar-free" is another designation to watch out for, especially for people with diabetes. Brewton says sugar is a carbohydrate and foods such as sugar free cookies or candy are not free of carbohydrates.

A person with diabetes may be unintentionally consuming large amounts of carbohydrates that can raise their blood glucose level.

An early 2011 study also found that consumers face the same problem when it comes to trans fats. Products can be labeled "zero trans fats" is they contain less than a half-gram of trans fat per serving.

If you limited yourself to one serving, it might not be a problem. The trouble is, most people consume more than the serving size listed on the label.

"If reading labels is not for you, you can always head to the produce department where there are foods that are extremely healthy for you and they have no labels," Brewton said.