Healthy Eating Tips for Shopping - Checking nutrition information labels before making food choices
Todd Donnelly, Nutritionist with GetFit Nutrition, believes that making good food choices means getting the right information. "Make a point of checking the labels of the things you buy currently and compare them to alternatives. Do this for a couple of weeks and you’ll soon realise how certain foods are better choices than others".
Below you’ll find some information on what makes a food high or low in a particular nutrient.
"Remember when you read the ingredients list on foods and drinks packaging, the first listed ingredient is the largest component contained in that item - other ingredients will be listed in descending order of proportion in the food", he adds.
Basics
The nutrition information on food labels help you see which individual foods and drinks best fit into your eating plan to help you reach and maintain your weight and health goals.
It is not a legal requirement for food manufacturers to provide nutrition information on food labels, except on products where a nutrition claim is made, for example, “low fat” or “high fibre”. However, many food manufacturers do provide this information voluntarily.
Nutrition information labels give you a breakdown of each nutrient in an individual food item by providing the figures per 100g and per serving. Note that a manufacturer’s idea of what constitutes ‘a serving’ may be quite different from your own!
High Low
Fat more than 20g less than 3g
Saturated fat more than 5g less than 1g
Sugar more than 10g less than 2g
Fibre more than 3g less than 0.5g
Sodium more than 0.5g less than 0.1g
Low fat – contains less than 3% fat i.e. 3g fat per 100g
Reduced fat/sugar – must contain at least 25% less fat/sugar than the standard product. Remember reduced fat/sugar doesn’t necessarily mean the item in question is actually low in fat/sugar or indeed low in calories.
Low sugar – contains less than 5g sugars per 100g (includes both added and naturally occurring sugar)
No added sugar – no sugar has been added (but there may well be naturally occurring sugar in the food)
High fibre – contains at least 6g fibre per serving or per 100g
Reduced calorie – must contain at least 25% fewer calories than the standard version of that food. Remember reduced calorie doesn’t necessarily mean the item in question is low in calories.
A common Myth and Misconception
“If I choose a product that claims to be 'low fat' or 'reduced fat' then it will always be a healthy choice” - Sometimes these products are unhealthy for you in other ways. They may have a high salt or sugar content e.g. reduced fat sausages. Most products that claim to be 'reduced fat' tend to be products that are usually high in fat in the first place e.g. cream cheese.
Tips and Tricks
- Look at the nutrition label on the foods you already have at home so that you don’t need to do it for every item whilst shopping
- Start off by looking at the nutrition labels for certain foods each shopping trip so that you don’t spend too long in the shop. You will soon get to know what you should and shouldn’t be buying
- Use the nutrient content per 100g on food labels when comparing similar products
- If something claims to be “low fat” or “reduced sugar”, have a look at a similar item that isn’t “low fat” or “reduced sugar” to see how it compares
- When looking at the nutrition label remember that the ‘serving’ is not necessarily the whole product – which may contain 1 or more servings
"Compare nutritional value of similar products – if, for instance, you want to find out which breakfast cereal has most fibre or least salt. Remember to compare figures per 100g rather than per serving", Todd advises.
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