Get label Savvy
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Get label Savvy!
Marketing versus science
Take a look at the nutrition labels on many processed foods and you could be forgiven for thinking that you had picked up a science manual not a food product!
Blinding us with excessive nutritional information and health claims is one way in which food manufacturers try to persuade us to buy their products.
However, armed with some basic information about GDA (Guideline Daily Amount = the amount of calories, fat, salt and other nutrients we should aim to consumer each day) and an understanding of the classic marketing tactics, getting label Savvy is easy.
Guideline Daily Amount
As a rule, government guidelines recommend we eat the following amounts.
|Maintenance diet |Weight loss diet |
| | |
|Male |Male |
|Female |Female |
| | |
|Calories |Calories |
|2500 kcals |2000 kcals |
|1900 kcals |1400 kcals |
| | |
|Fat |Fat |
|90g |70g |
|70g |50g |
| | |
What this means in real terms
Energy
The energy in food is measured in calories (kcal). Eating more calories than we need leads to weight gain.
Savvy fact: women need a total of around 1900 calories and men 2500 calories per day.
Fat
Fat is a rich source of calories and overeating high fat products can easily lead to weight gain.
Savvy fact: 20g of fat per 100g is a lot, 3g or less per 100g is a little. Women need a maximum of 70g of fat, men 90g, per day.
Saturated fat
Saturated fat is known to raise the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood that puts you at risk of stroke and heart disease.
Savvy fact: 3g of saturated fat per 100g is a lot, 1g per 100g is a little. Women should aim for no more than 20g, men 30g, per day.
Sugar
The amount of added sugar in a food or drink is not always given on the label.
If this is the case, check where “sugar” appears on the list of ingredients. The higher up the list, the more sugar the food contains. Be aware that sucrose, glucose, golden syrup, maple syrup, treacle, maltose, dextrose and honey are all added sugars.
Savvy fact: 10g of sugar per 100g is a lot, 2g is a little. Women should aim for no more than 28g (7 teaspoons), men 34g (8 teaspoons), of added sugar per day.
Sodium
Sodium is a trace mineral naturally presents in tiny amounts in foods. Most sodium in food comes from added salt. Too much salt can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of stroke.
Savvy fact: 0.5g or more of sodium per 100g is considered a lot, 0.1g per 100g is a little. Women and men should aim for no more than 2.5g of sodium per day.
Common labelling tricks
1. Low GI
“Low GI” (low glyceamic index) means that the food or product in question contains low GI carbohydrates, which are digested slowly, helping to keep you feel full for longer.
You may assume that foods bearing the “low GI” symbol are a healthy choice and in the case of basmati rice, oatcakes and soy & linseed bread, this is correct. Yet, some foods like ice cream and chocolate are low GI because their high fat content slows down the digestion of sugar.
Remember, although a food may be low GI, it still supplies calories and could be high in fat.
2. Low carb
Foods with this label have had sugar replaced with artificial ingredients such as sorbitol. Because sorbitol does not raise blood sugar as rapidly as standard sugar, manufacturers do not count these as carbohydrates. However, low carb products often contain the same calories as the orignal normal carbohydrate version.
Be warned, low carb does not equal low calorie.
3. Light and lite
These terms sometimes refer to the texture of the product, meaning it is light in texture. Examples of this are a “light” chocolate mouse or “light” fruit cake. It does not mean that the product has fewer calories than any equivalent product.
Ignore these claims and check the nutritional breakdown per 100g and per serving.
4. Low fat
The legal definition of “low fat” is that the product in question contains less than 3g of fat per 100g. However, low fat spreads have their own rules and to count as “low fat” the product must contain less than 40g of fat per 100g.
Hence, there is no such thing as a spread that is truly low in fat.
5. Fat free
“% fat free” claims are supposed to have been voluntarily dropped by the food industry. The exception is if a food contains less than 3g of fat per 100g, making it 97% fat free.
Ignore any “% fat free” claims. Many sweet foods may be 97% fat free, but extra sugar has been added to replace the fat that has been removed. Check the nutritional breakdown per 100g and per serving.
6. Flavour
A strawberry “flavour” yoghurt is yoghurt that gets in strawberry taste from artificial flavours. A strawberry “flavoured” yoghurt however must have most of its taste coming from the real fruit.
To cut down on artificial flavourings, avoid products that use the word “flavour”.
7. Transfats
Transfats are made when a process called hydrogenation hardens vegetable oils. They raise levels of bad cholesterol, which increases risk of stroke and heart disease.
To avoid transfats, avoid products that feature “hydrogenated” fat in the ingredients list.
8. Emotives
Emotive words are used to sway us to buy a product but they actually mean very little. Examples of this are “farm fresh”, “country style” and “ocean fresh”.
Don’t be persuaded by the marketing hype and check the nutritional information on the pack.
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