Reading nutritional information on food labels

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What should I look at first? 

Turn the product over and look at the label at the back. Look down the 100g/100ml column only.  First check out the carbohydrate figure, then the sugar content - labelled as “carbohydrate, of which sugars”. Next look at the saturates, the salt and the fibre.

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Which products should you buy?  

Try to limit to purchases where the macronutrients measures per 100 or 100ml are:

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• Carbohydrate 25g or less

• Of which Sugars 6g or less (you’ll be surprised how high this can be on some products!)

• Saturates 1.5g or less

• Salt 0.3g or less

• Fibre 6g or more 

• Protein: Always go for as much protein content as possible!

 

When comparing products, always compare them by the 100g or 100ml column. Food manufacturers don’t standardise serving sizes, so you won’t have a fair comparison unless you stick with a common denominator.

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Now look at the ingredient lists

Manufacturers are required to list ingredients in order of quantity. For example, if flour is the principle ingredient in a food product, it will be first on the list. Cast your eye over the listing and if calorie-rich foods such as fat or sugar appear in the first few ingredients, go easy or give it a miss.

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Beware hydrogenated/trans fats (foods that often contain trans fats include baked goods, snack foods, deep-fried foods and some margarines).

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Hydrogenated oils are vegetable oils whose chemical structure has been altered to prevent rancidity in foods, which increases shelf life and saves money for food manufacturers. In addition, this process also has the technological advantage of making foods solid or partially solid at room temperature. 

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The process of hydrogenation involves adding hydrogen atoms to unsaturated oils. As the level of hydrogen increases, the level of saturated fat increases and the level of unsaturated fat decreases.

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Why are they to be avoided? 

They increase bad cholesterol (LDL low-density lipoprotein) and decrease good cholesterol (HDL high-density lipoprotein). 

How do you avoid them?  You must read nutrition facts AND the ingredients labels. Many foods advertised as “zero grams trans fat” do, in fact, contain trans fat. If the amount is less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, FDA guidelines allow the manufacturer to list “zero grams trans fat” on the nutrition label. So make sure you read the ingredients list too - if the ingredient list contains the words "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated," the food contains trans fat. 

  

Misleading claims

• Check low fat yoghurts (and other low fat claims on products) don’t contain loads of sugar – stick to FAGE Greek Yoghurt that is high in protein too

• Beware sugary breakfast cereals – some are sky high in sugar (often over 30%) and relatively low in fibre

• Check “includes fresh (or real) fruit”, “made with vegetables” and “100% natural” claims – never guarantees much of these so called ingredients are included and are full of empty calories ie sugar

 

Fruit and vegetable choices - which veg/fruit is best for fat loss?

Worth noting…  1 banana contains 30g carb 1 punnet of strawberries contains 2 g carb!

Examples:

Fruit and veg low in sugar AND high in fibre:

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, rhubarb, kale, spring greens, cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli, peppers, sprouts, aubergines

Veg lowest in sugar:

Spinach, lettuce, herbs, bok choi, celery, radishes, asparagus, cucumber, green beans, fennel, cauli, courgette, snap peas, artichokes, turnips, pumpkin, celeriac, carrots, leeks

Veg highest sugar:

Parsnip, potato, peas, sweetcorn

Fruit lowest in sugar:

Lemon, lime

Fruit highest in sugar:

Grapes, bananas (hi fibre), mango, beware dried fruit! Tangerines, cherries

Low/medium in sugar:

Tomato, papaya, watermelon, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, cantaloupe and honeydew melon, apples (hi fibre), guavas, apricots, grapefruit

Fairly high in sugar:

Plums, oranges, kiwi (hi fibre), pears (hi fibre), pineapple