Know thy Label

One of the biggest challenges we face when trying to purchase packaged foods is how to read the nutritional panel. While its supposedly there to empower us to make good food choices, manufacturers will often manipulate our lack of awareness leading us to buy products we’d otherwise avoid. So, here is what you need to know

 

 Taken from NSW Food Authorty website http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au

Energy

Energy is measured as calories (kCal) and kilojoules (kJ)1 calorie is equivalent to 4.18 kilojoules. Essentially just divide the kilojoules by 4 to get the calories

608kJ is equivalent to 145kCal (calories)

Why?

608 / 4.18 =145

Most people should ideally consume between 1500 and 2200 calories each day. If you’re quite over weight, you may need less. Therefore, how many calories we’re consuming are a good thing to know, right?

Fat

Fat comes in different forms and not all of it is bad for you! Read the saturated fat and always choose options that have less of it. You can see in the above example the saturated fat is 4.5 grams of the total 7.4 grams. Monounsaturated fats like those in avocado and nuts are great fat.

Protein

Protein builds tissue, it helps build hormones and neurotransmitters, it forms the structure of our bodies and if we’re trying to lose weight, it keeps us feeling full. You should aim for at least 1g proteins per kilogram of your body weight.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates like fat come in different forms, some good, some not so good. Always look at the sugar content of the foods you’re buying. n the label above the whole carbohydrate value is sugar, 18.6g.Often, 1 or 2 grams of that sugar comes from the good ingredients themselves, other times, it’s added directly to the product as sugar. For example a fruit puree will be high in sugar, why? Because sugar naturally occurs in fruit. There is a good chance however that the manufacturer has also added extra sugar, (fruit apparently isn’t sweet enough?). Read on further to discover how to read an ingredient list… you think it’d be simple…

Fibre is another carbohydrate, fibre is great, we love fibre, the more fibres the merrier. If you have more fibre than sugar you’re onto a winner!

Sodium

For certain people, sodium increases blood pressure. Girls it can also give us that puffy look because we hold more water with a higher salt diet. Most of the salt we consume comes from packaged foods. They love to throw it in there. The food scientists tell us it makes things taste better! If comparing products always choose the lower salt or salt reduced options. Try and consume no more than 2400mg of sodium a day.

Vitamins and minerals

All those percentages! What do they mean? When a countries government and scientific bodies decide on a recommended daily intake they put a number on it. You’ll see this written as RDI by the way. The percentage is the amount of the vitamin that the food contains with regards to the RDI. So, if a food contains 2% vitamin A, it contains 2% of the RDI for vitamin A., which means it has 180 mcg; the RDI is 900mcg for an adult male in Australia. (900 x 0.2 = 190mcg)

The ingredient list

Surrounding the nutritional panel will be an ingredient list. If there is only one ingredient it is often listed on the front. The list includes every ingredient that is in the food item, from the ingredient with the largest amount, to the ingredient with the smallest amount. Therefore first few ingredients give you an idea about the healthfulness of the food. If the first ingredient is sugar, corn syrup or glucose just avoid it. Look down the list and see if you’re happy with what is contained in the product and their quantities. Always note the little numbers. I have a general rule, the less numbers the better.

Tips and tricks

- Always look at the serving size

There are two columns in a nutritional panel. One are the nutritional values based on the serving size, the other is based on 100 grams. It’s an interesting activity to have a look at the serving size, and then take a look at the size of the packet you’re holding. Why? Because a food might not seem too bad with 3gm sugar, 5 grams saturated fat, 3 grams protein per serve. However, lets say the serving size is 50grams, then you look at the packet size, lets say its 500gms. Now, there are 10 serves of 50grams in that 500gram packet, correct? Are you REALLY only going to eat 50grams? Honestly? It’s a ploy I tell you! More often than not, the manufacturers know you will eat the whole packet. Why? Because it’s laden with sugar, salt and fat and so it tastes damn good. Before you know it you’ve now consumed 30 grams of sugar and 50 grams of fat. Whoops.  Get good at comparing serving size to pack size and knowing your own limits.

-         Compare equal sizes

A lot of us seem to like comparing things that aren’t comparable. If you’re holding two products in your hands, make sure you’re comparing the 100gram values. Trying to compare a 30g serve of one food to a 45 gram serve of another food wont be helpful. Just look at the 100gm panel from the beginning and save yourself the hassle.

-         The natural sugars

As I mentioned earlier, some foods naturally have more sugar. Fruit will have sugar, some grain foods might have a bit of sugar, it is plant sugar. It is natural, from the source, just eat it. But remember to check the ingredient list for the added sugar. I would choose natural food sugars over added glucose or corn syrup anyway.

-         What’s in a name?

Already I have mentioned at least 3 names for sugar, be aware there are many more. Educate yourself on sugars alternative names because the manufacturers will try and sneak it in however they can.  Here are just a few

-         Sugar

-         Corn syrup

-         Glucose

-         Cane sugar

-         Dextrose

-         Fructose

-         Golden syrup

-         Maltodextrin

-         Sucrose

It may take a bit of time at first, but once you understand how to pick a tricky label and how to find the information you really want, reading labels is easy and incredibly helpful. Get good at it and empower yourself to better food choices!