The importance of reading food labels

culled from:tescohealthandwellbeing.com

When shopping, do you take the time to check the food labels on the products you buy or is price the only deciding factor for you? In this article, we look at the importance of reading food labels and how it can benefit your health.

These days, entering a supermarket is like entering a nutritional minefield. We are bombarded from all sides with temptation. Colorful packaging, 2- for- 1 deals and other special offers, all shriek 'Buy me! Buy me!’. While it’s important to get as much monetary value for your money as possible, it’s just as important to get the best nutritional value too. Do you really know exactly what you’re putting in your trolley? This is where reading food labels come in.

Why read food labels?

Over the last fifty years, food has become increasingly more complex in its preparation, processing and packaging. Even with buying raw ingredients like meat, fish, fruit and veg, it makes sense to know exactly where it comes from and if anything has been added to it, right? The same goes for packaged ingredients, ready meals and processed foods. In recent years, the EU has made the displaying of nutritional data mandatory, meaning you can see exactly what you are buying. But how many of us actually take the time to read each label? I know, most of us are in a hurry when we shop and mindlessly slinging the usual weekly items into the trolley is a quick and easy way to get this chore over with. But how many of these items would you NOT choose if you knew what was in them? Let’s take a closer look at reading food labels to see exactly what is good and bad.

The small print

Before we go further, let’s take a look at the small print at the bottom. This will state that “Percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.” What does this mean?

Reference intake

Your Reference Intake, formerly GDA, is the amount of calories and nutrients you should be consuming each day to remain in good health. To consistently eat above or below your RI is to risk weight loss/gain and the health concerns this could bring. On most food packaging, it will give the RI based on a 2000 calorie diet, but this is just based on the ‘average’ person and is not always right for you as an individual. (To get YOUR personalised Reference Intake, go to the Tesco Health and Wellbeing app/website, sign up and input your personal details.)
In a nutshell, it means that the percentages of the nutritional data will only be accurate if you have the same RI specified on the packaging. Everyone has different nutritional needs depending on their age, gender, weight, height, bmi, etc.. If your daily calorie allowance is different, then you may be getting more or less of these nutrients, depending on how many calories are recommended. This is why tracking your food is important, so you can see an accurate picture of what you are consuming each day.
Average reference intake (based on average female on 2000 calories per day)

Calories	2000
Fat	70g
Saturates	20g
Salt	6g
Sugars	90g
Carbohydrates	260g
Protein	50g

Serving size

It’s important to know how many servings are in your food item first and foremost as this can be deceptive. Portion control is of paramount importance when it comes to ensuring you are not over-eating so it’s worth knowing how much of the item you should eat. For instance, if you buy a 12” pizza, it’s very easy for two people to share, or even for one person to eat it all. But if it says ‘Serves 4’ on the box, you could easily be eating double the recommended amount.
Many servings are by weight or measurement so if you are unsure then take the time to weigh out your serving. It’s very easy to incorrectly estimate something like cereal or nuts and this can make a big difference to your calorie/nutritional intake. By tracking your servings in your Food Diary, you can ensure you are keeping to the correct portions and are getting the right amount of calories.

Calories

This is the one that most people read on food labels and you can often tell straight away if this is a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food by the number of calories it contains. By keeping to the correct portion and tracking your intake in your Food Diary, you can enjoy these food items as part of your daily calorie allowance.

Fats

More than likely, you will see a whole list of different fats. Why? Because some of these are ‘good’ natural fats, which are heart-healthy, while others are ‘bad’ fats manufactured or added during processing. These are the ones you need to keep to a minimum.
Bad fats: Saturated fats, trans fats, hydrogenated fats.
Good fats: Polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats.
Choosing food that’s higher in ‘good’ fats is always preferable, but remember that all fat = calories and must always be eaten in moderation.
Tip: If a food item contains less than 3g fat per 100g of the item, it’s officially low in fat.

Cholesterol

Low-cholesterol foods, on the whole, are usually best, so if there is a high cholesterol content on the label, it’s usually best to avoid it. That said, some foods, such as olive oil, olive spreads, oily fish, and so on, contains high levels of ‘good’ cholesterol. For further information, check out this article about controlling your cholesterol levels.

Sodium

In layman’s terms, sodium contains 2.5 times normal salt. So if you are watching your salt intake and you see sodium, multiply it by 2.5 to get the actual salt content. Foods with a low salt content are always preferable as an excess of sodium intake can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.
Tip: How much is too much? If it contains more than 0.6g of sodium per 100g it’s high salt so leave it behind.

Carbohydrates

Carbs are getting a bad rap these days as more people start to see them as ‘the bad guy’ of weight gain where once it was fat. However, we need carbs for energy and to fuel our mind and body so cutting them out altogether isn’t advisable. Carbs are an essential part of our daily diet and if eaten in balanced quantities, can be of great benefit.
Tip: Get your carbs from vegetables, fruit and whole grains for optimum health.

Dietary fibre

Fibre, also known as roughage, is the indigestible part of plants contained in foods. Fibre isThese are instrumental in pushing food through the intestines and as such, is vital for good digestion and internal health. If you suffer from constipation, the chances are you are not getting enough fibre in your diet. So looking for foods with a high percentage of your recommended daily fibre intake on the label will show you what’s best to buy.
Tip: The recommended intake amount for fibre is 24g daily.

Sugars

While many foods contain natural sugars (such as fruit), many processed foods have sugar added. Mostly it’s for taste and usually if something else, such as fat, has been removed. Sugar can affect our insulin levels and can cause weight gain so must be monitored carefully. Keep an eye out for this bad boy hiding under the following names: sucrose, glucose, glucose syrup, fructose, glucose-fructose syrup, maltose, maltodextrin, invert sugar, golden syrup, maple syrup, molasses and honey.
Tip: If the sugar content is more than 22.5g per 100g of the food item, put it back on the shelf.

Protein

Protein is vital for the growth and building of muscle, bone, blood and internal organs so getting your daily quota is important. Protein also improves satiety and so keeps you feeling full. But remember, you can eat too much protein too, and this can result in reduced liver function and weight gain so be label aware and monitor your daily intake.

Vitamins and minerals

This is where the good stuff is! Calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and all the vitamins are contained in this section and the longer the list, the better. Look for food that has plenty of these to get more bang for your nutritional buck.

Front of pack labelling

In the UK, many food manufacturing companies voluntarily place ‘traffic light’ labels on the front of their products. These labels, designed by the UK Food Standards Authority, display calories, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt content and are colour-coded according to their nutritional content. For instance, if a food item is high in fat or one of the other components shown on this label, the fat section will be shown in red. If it’s between the high and low levels, it will be amber and if it’s low in fat it will be green. This allows busy shoppers to quickly select healthier choices and studies have shown that it’s having a positive impact on the choices we make. However, this labelling system is currently voluntary and is not always consistent. Some food labels display percentages of Reference Intake and others simply specify ‘Low’, ‘Medium’ or ‘High’. This labelling system is currently meeting with resistance in the EU so it remains to be seen whether all foods will one day carry this label. For the moment, to be doubly sure, check the nutritional information instead. Taking the few extra minutes to be label-aware, could make a huge difference to your health and that of your family.